Lost in a Lost World
by LadyNiko
Summary: [COMPLETED!] Adora gets caught in a Horde trap and is 'destined to wander lost in a lost world' Ch. 18 The End is now up for your reading pleasure. Stick a fork in it this puppy is done!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: This is a work of *fanfiction,* therefore, I do not claim ownership of any of the primary characters *except* for Chelsea - she's mine alone. Last I knew, Filmation was now a part of Hallmark so they get all the money, not me! I'm unemployed and don't have any money! :-p  
  
Lost in A Lost World  
The Moody Blues, © 1972  
  
I woke up today, I was crying,  
  
Lost in a lost world,  
  
'Cos so many people are dying,  
  
Lost in a lost world.  
Some of them are living an illusion  
  
Bounded by the darkness of their minds,  
  
In their eyes it's nation against nation,  
  
With racial pride, sad hearts they hide,  
  
Thinking only of themselves,  
  
They shun the light,  
  
They think they're right  
  
Living in the empty shells.  
Oh, can you see their world is crashing?  
  
Crashing down around their feet  
  
And angry people in the street  
  
Are telling them they've had their fill  
  
Of politics that wound and kill.   
  
Grow, the seeds of evolution.  
  
Revolution never won,  
  
It's just another form of gun  
  
To do again what they have done  
  
With all our brothers' youngest sons.  
Everywhere you go you'll feel them searching,  
  
Everywhere you turn you'll feel the pain,  
  
Everyone is looking for the answer,  
  
We'll look again, come on my friend,  
  
Love will find them in the end.  
  
Come on, my friend, we've got to bend  
  
On our knees and say a prayer.  
Oh, can you feel the world is pining?  
  
Pining for someone who really cares  
  
Enough to share his love  
  
With all of us, so we can be  
  
An ever-loving family.  
  
Have you forgotten we're all children?  
  
Children from a family tree  
  
That's longer than a centipede  
  
And started long ago  
  
When you and I were only love  
By The Power of Love  
Filmation © 1984  
  
Somewhere out there, someone needs me  
I don't know how or where, but believe me.  
I'd walk the universe to find her  
For better or for worse beside her.  
  
For the honor of love  
By the power above  
I have the power  
I have the power  
  
A stranger walked into my world  
And when he talked I really heard.  
He spoke of things like love and peace  
The joy it brings will never cease.  
  
For the honor of love  
By the power above  
I have the power  
I have the power  
  
The truth of love will always guide us  
The strength above will be beside us  
Forever more we'll be together  
Our hearts will soar onto the other  
  
For the honor of love  
By the power above  
I have the power  
I have the power 


	2. Chapter 1 Things That Go Bump In the Ni...

***If you really want to read the silly disclaimer, go back to the Prologue - I am not going to post it all over again! :-p***  
  
Chapter I * * * *  
  
The Rebel Leader Adora, or more formally known as Princess Adora of Eternia slept peacefully in Castle Blackmoore on the planet Etheria, unaware of the event about to unfold around her. Since becoming the rebel leader, she had been lucky to get a few hours to herself without something coming up needing her, or She-Ra's attention.  
  
Queen Angela of Brightmoon, one of the other key leaders in the rebellion against the Horde occupancy of Etheria, had seen that the train was taking its toll on Adora and set her foot down and ordered Adora to take a few days off to recharge. She had even mentioned slyly, that Adora should consider making a visit home to see her family on Eternia and possibly taking the pirate Captain Seahawk with her to meet her parents, causing Adora to curse her fair skin as she had blushed rose red.  
  
Upon reaching Castle Blackmoore and concluding her business there, it was too late to travel on to Gailsbreath to meet Seahawk that day. Adora had decided to retire early and leave with the first light in the morning to get to the village. The seneschal had sent a messenger out to Gailsbreath to let the captain know not to expect Adora until the following day.  
  
In the Fright Zone, the Horde's main base for their occupancy of Etheria, at Shadoweaver's Horror Hall, Shadoweaver told Hordak of her findings, "Hordak, I have located the Ex-Force Captain Adora at Blackmoore Castle." Shadoweaver's raspy voice reported her findings as she turned from pool of vision. Her hooded red dress hid her disfigured face, so all that could be seen were her glowing, yellow eyes.  
  
"Excellent, Shadoweaver, excellent," Hordak replied, clapping his hands together in evil glee. As the commander of the Etherian Horde Force, he didn't believe all that strongly in Shadoweaver's magic. He had seen it work well and other times seen the horrendous result when one of her spells was turned against her. "All is in readiness for the attack, let it commence!"  
  
"As you command, Hordak," Shadoweaver replied with a wave of her arms and a flash of lightning, cast the translocation spell.  
  
Shadoweaver, Hordak and two full platoon of robot troopers along with four of the Horde mercenaries - Leech, with his energy draining ability, Mantannae, known for his balance distorter beams; Catra with her stolen mask of the cat people that allowed her to change her form into that of a cat; and Scorpia, with claws for hands and her deadly scorpion's tail- all appeared outside the walls of Castle Blackmoore. For Shadoweaver, she was looking forward to this attack, since she had a new spell she wanted to try out on either She-Ra or Adora, it mattered not which, for without either one, the rebellion was doomed. She needed a way to get back into Hordak's good graces and this spell should be her ticket to do just that.  
  
Inside the castle, the heat lightning and which preceded the approaching storm was intense enough to wake Adora from her peaceful rest. The blonde young woman donned her robe and moved to the window to watch the storm as it approached. At first, her sapphire blue eyes saw nothing and she turned to pick up the Sword of Protection, which was laying next to a dress her mother had given her for a Terran holiday called Christmas. As her hand wrapped around the hilt of the sword, it glowed brightly and the all too familiar scent of danger filled her senses. With the next brilliant flash of lightning, the Horde attack force appeared amidst the gusting wind. Adora gasped in surprise at their sudden appearance before she quickly recovered herself and hurriedly got dressed before raising the alarm.  
  
Once the alarm was successfully raised, Adora stood in the courtyard in the middle of the raging storm, directing the castle's defenses. Shouting the orders out over the loud, booming thunder and gusting winds. That accomplished, she realized that she needed to get a better idea of how the fight was going on outside. She needed to find out if She-Ra's help would be needed and she couldn't do that from inside the castle. Her next goal in mind, Adora snuck out of the castle amidst a group of fighters as they went out the main gate, trying not to draw attention to herself from the Horde troopers.  
  
It was at this point in time, the nightmare began for three women whose lives were all somehow connected to Adora's - The Sorceress of Grayskull, guardian and guide to Adora and her brother Adam; Queen Marlena, Adora and Adam's mother who never thought that her Terran background would ever come into play again; and Chelsea Cameron, a young psychic from Queen Marlena's home world who had helped He-Man to defeat Skeletor after he had returned from the 'grave' and captured Castle Grayskull again. Each was helpless in the grips of the nightmare that they now witnessed unfolding from Adora's point of view.  
  
* * * *  
  
Adora moved along the edge of the battle, she occasionally encountering a trooper or two, and dealt with them accordingly, but for the most part all the robot troopers were engaged in fighting the rebel defense force. She was beginning to get a pretty good idea of the attack force size and saw that for the moment, the rebels were holding their own against the enemy robots. But, all bets were off when dealing with the mercenaries. She knew that Hordak wouldn't commit himself to an attack of this size without having at least one or two of them handy, and they were the unknown factor. She-Ra would be needed to deal with them. She headed into the woods to change into She-Ra to give the rebels the edge they needed by taking care of Hordak's mercenaries. Just as she lifted her sword in preparation for the change, Adora heard a rustling in the brush behind her. Not sure if it would be friend or foe, Adora whirled around in time to see Catra's flying leap.  
  
Catra slammed into her, knocking her to the ground. Adora grunted as she skidded in the mud with Catra clinging to her legs. As Catra clawed her way towards Adora's face, Adora yanked one leg free and slammed a boot into her opponent's face. Catra let go with a growl of surprise and Adora scrambled back to her feet first.  
  
Circling each other, probing the each other's defense, Catra hissed, "Give up, Adora! You can never win! Even your friends are doomed!"  
  
Adora shivered inside as she though of the hideous evil that Hordak could have planned for her friends and was determined that Hordak would never win complete control over Etheria again. "I won't give up, Catra. I can't give up."  
  
Meanwhile, Hordak watched the battle's progress from inside one of his tanks with Shadoweaver at his side. At Catra's signal, she was to transport them to Catra's location, so Shadoweaver could use her new spell on whichever of the two rebel women that Catra managed to trap. The signal should arrive at any moment, and Shadoweaver was getting as impatient as Hordak.  
  
In the midst of all this, Spirit, Adora's horse and companion, managed to get himself out of the stable and then out of the castle. He tried to follow her scent to get to her side as the lightning and thunder continued to crash overhead and the rain continued to come in blinding sheets. He followed her route along the edge of the battle, trampling any robot trooper who was foolish enough to get in his way. The robots quickly left him alone after that.  
  
While in the village of Gailsbreath, Seahawk, the semi-reformed pirate and Adora's love, was going over plans for the refitting and refurbishing of his ship, the Solar Sailor II, with his first mate and best friend Swen when his half of the magical pendant that he shared with Adora began glowing.  
  
Swen was the first one to notice that it wasn't the lamp's reflection on the pendant, but the pendant itself that was glowing. He stammered, "C- Cap'n, l-look!" He pointed to the pendant, "Your pendant, it's g-glowing! Adora must be in danger."  
  
"By the saints, Swen, you're right! Gather up the men, we're going to Castle Blackmoore!" He then added under his breath, "Hang on Adora, I'm on my way." He held the pendant in his hand for a moment longer, looking at it thoughtfully before he went to join Swen and brief his men on what was happening.  
  
Once the crew was gathered, the red, closely clipped, bearded pirate explained that something was amiss at Castle Blackmoore and he believed that the Horde was involved. The crew let out a bloody thirsty cheer that the rumbling thunder couldn't drown out. They had a score to settle with the Horde, still, for shooting the original Solar Sailor out of the skies and now they were going after the Captain's lady? That was going too far. They let out another bloodthirsty cheer as Seahawk gave the signal to move out and march on to Castle Blackmoore.  
  
Back at the Castle, Spirit reached the clearing where Adora and Catra were slugging it out. He knew that Catra was a dirty fighter and didn't trust her not to pull a bad move to cripple/wound Adora seriously. He moved in to break up the fight by blocking Catra from getting to Adora when a bunch of Horde robots came out of the dense forest and blocked his way. Knowing that it would take too long to go thru the robots, he decided to try and go around to another side of the clearing, only to see more troopers in the forest, blocking his every access to her. Recognizing it for what it was - a trap meant to capture Adora, Spirit knew he needed help in order to get Adora out of it before it was too late. But first, he had to give her some time for him to bring back help and to do that he had to distract the person commanding the robots. He didn't know who it was until he had reached almost the opposite side of the clearing and saw Leech hiding in the brush, directing the robots' movements. He charged the mercenary's hiding spot, rousting him out and herding him for a thick patch of prickly, thorny bushes. With a butt of his head, Spirit sent the mercenary sprawling headfirst into the briar patch. Not taking time to gloat over his momentary triumph, Spirit worked his way back thru the forest until he reached the road to Gailsbreath on the far side of the castle, away from the battle and set out to get help at a full gallop.  
  
About halfway there, Spirit met up with the pirate captain and his men. The white horse with the fiery mane and tail thundered to a halt in front of the captain, his sides heaving as he struggled to bring enough oxygen into his lungs, sweat foaming on his coat, making his coat seem gray rather than its normal gleaming white. Based on Spirit's appearance alone, Seahawk made his decision.  
  
"Adora's in trouble right, Spirit?" he asked, putting a steadying hand on the horse's neck.  
  
Spirit nodded his head, concentrating on getting as much fresh oxygen as he could into his lungs.  
  
"Think you can get me back there fast?" he asked.  
  
Again, Spirit nodded. He would do anything for Adora.  
  
"Then, let's go, Spirit," Seahawk answered, getting a good handful of Spirit's mane and hauling himself up onto the horse's back. "Swen, get there as fast as you can. I've got to see what Hordak's trying to do to Adora now."  
  
Spirit spun around and lunged forward into a ground-eating gallop back the road towards Castle Blackmoore, his hooves kicking up great clods of mud behind him.  
  
Back at the Castle, the rebel troops were still holding their own against the robots, but with Mantannae and Scorpia harassing them, the rebel force was having a hard time beating the robots back. They needed some reinforcements, but there were none to be had at Castle Blackmoore and no one to send with a message for help to either Whispering Woods or the palace at Brightmoon stating their need. It wasn't desperate, but it wasn't good either.. 


	3. Chapter 2 The Dark Casting

***If you really want to read the silly disclaimer, go back to the Prologue - I am not going to post it all over again! :-p***  
  
Chapter II * * * *  
  
In the woods behind the battle at Castle Blackmoore, Adora was fighting a battle of her own against Catra. Catra had come into this fight, fresh and ready, and had the advantage of surprise on her side. Adora had had only a few hours rest after a long day of traveling and dealing with rebellion issues. She also was expecting an attack from the rear at any moment, and her attention was partially on making sure that didn't happen. She knew now, that she needed to make the transformation into She-Ra as soon as possible. It was her best chance of getting that energy boost she needed to save herself and everyone at the castle. Her muscles screamed in agony as she barely avoided Catra's latest attack and delivered a sharp chop to the base of Catra's neck, knocking her unconscious finally.  
  
Heaving a sigh of relief at that problem taken care of, Adora drooped with exhaustion. She took a moment to catch her breath before forcing her sore muscles to move. She had to get further away to safely make the change into She-Ra. Her exhausted body failed and she slipped in the thick mud that covered the forest floor. A sharp pain wrenched a gasp from her as her right knee twisted the wrong way and she fell in the mud.  
  
Having freed himself, finally, from the briar patch that Spirit had driven him into, Leech saw the advantage and went for it.  
  
Adora heard his approach but couldn't react fast enough to do avoid him. She felt his slimy, green suction cup hands slide along her head and felt the sudden dizziness that came as he drained her remaining strength. The thought of Hordak gloating in victory tore through her mind and she shrieked in anger as her elbow rammed into Leech's groin who yelped and landed on his rear, winded, in pain and stunned. Dazed, Adora struggled to her feet and limped off unsteadily as fast as she could manage, her right knee just shooting pain every time she put her weight on it. The fact that Hordak might have more of his mercenaries planted in the woods to try and trap was there in the back of her mind, but all she could think of was her need to change into She-Ra. She was unaware that Hordak and Shadoweaver were indeed close by, waiting to put the final phase of their evil machinations into effect.  
  
As Spirit and Seahawk approached the castle, they avoided the battle and took the fork that would lead them directly into the forest. Spirit was covered in lather but even his exhaustion would not stop him until he found and rescued his beloved mistress and friend. They had come too far to let the Horde win now and he wasn't about to give up.  
  
Adora had found what she thought was a secluded enough spot to make the change into She-Ra. Panting from the pain in her knee, Adora braced a hand against a tree she reached over her shoulder to pull the Sword of Honor from its scabbard. She lifted her sword in preparation for the change and was about to invoke its power by reciting that special phrase. "For the-"  
  
Boom! She was trapped in a force field, unable to move! Then, with a flash of lightning, Hordak and Shadoweaver appeared before her and all she could do was to gasp in shock at their appearance.  
  
"Greetings, Ex-Force Captain, Adora. It' so good to see you again," Hordak said by way of greeting.  
  
"It's Rebel Leader Adora, or even Princess Adora, now Hordak, as you well know. I don't like being reminded of my past association with the Horde," Adora replied in a biting tone, finding her voice back. "Just what do you want with me this time? You know I won't come back to the Horde."  
  
"Actually, I wanted She-Ra," Hordak said her alter-ego's name like it was a curse, "but, since I have you instead, I will ask you this question before I let Shadoweaver try out her new spell on you in She-Ra's place. Will you rejoin the Horde? It's your last chance to save yourself," Hordak replied in half-truth. He'd let her come back, but Shadoweaver would have to wipe her mind and make her once more the docile, but feverent force captain she had once been. "Think about it, Princess Adora."  
  
"What did I just tell you? Never again! I want to be able to live with myself! I don't want to become a mindless slave again!" Adora spit out her answer. Nothing he could offer her would ever make her consider going back to the Horde.  
  
"Very well then, Princess Adora. It is as I thought it would be," he turned to Shadoweaver and with a wave of his hand said, "You may begin, Shadoweaver."  
  
"As you command, Hordak," the evil sorceress replied as she raised her arms to begin working her dark magic.  
  
"It's too bad you won't change your mind Ex-Force Captain Adora, now you are doomed to wander lost in a lost world for eternity." Hordak snorted and laughed with evil glee.  
  
"I won't come back, Hordak! Never!" Adora cried vehemently. She was unsure of what he meant, and knew by the sound of his voice that it boded no good for her, but she would not change her mind. She was shocked to see Spirit with Seahawk on his back emerge from the swirling mists. She watched her horse carrying her lover come charging forward towards Hordak.  
  
Seeing his chance to tackle Hordak, Seahawk leaped from Spirit's back, letting out a growl of pure rage just before Hordak swung around and shot him with his paralyzing stun beam.  
  
Hordak grinned and laughed maniacally as Seahawk slammed into the ground.  
  
Shadoweaver continued her spell oblivious to the disturbance that was swirling around her.  
  
"Seahawk!" Adora managed to shout. She hoped he was all right and wished desperately that her twin brother Adam was there to help her. Everything went brilliant white like someone had set off a flash inside her head and then she knew nothing more.  
  
Seahawk fought the effects of the stun beam long enough to see Adora disappear in a whirl of black smoke and lightning; then time had no meaning for him as well.  
  
* * * *  
  
Swen and the crew from the Solar Sailor arrived shortly after Seahawk and Spirit had and they proceeded to turn the tide for the rebel forces. With their eager help, the Horde robots didn't stand a chance and were beaten back from the castle. With every robot destroyed, the crew let out bloodthirsty cheers and doubled their efforts to destroy the next one.  
  
Spirit had to shake off the two mercenaries who were on his tail, determined to keep him from getting back to Adora's side. By the time he managed to do that, Hordak and Shadoweaver were gone, Adora was nowhere to be found and Seahawk was out cold, and could not be wakened. The smell of ozone still lingered in the air and Spirit recognized it as the discharge from Hordak's stun cannon. Seahawk would be out of it for a while and then feel pretty wretched once he woke up. Things were not looking good and he was worried about Adora. What had happened to her? He could find no current traces of her scent in the forest. The freshest scent he could find led him right back to that spot and it just ended abruptly fifteen feet away from where Seahawk lay unconscious. Knowing he had to keep moving to keep his way beyond tired muscles from knotting up, Spirit went to go find Swen and bring him back to this spot. Swen would have to handle it from here, because all he wanted now was a good rub down, a hot grain mash to eat, and a comfortable stall, deep in straw to recover from his mad gallop to Gailsbreath. He was trembling with exhaustion as he set off to go find the first mate.  
  
* * * *  
  
The three women who had been caught in the terror-filled nightmare all awoke, shaken by the events that had transpired. Each of them was certain they had a role to play in the unfolding events, but only the Sorceress of Grayskull had an idea what her role would be and even then, she was not absolutely certain.  
  
Adam, Adora's twin brother and crown prince of Eternia, also awoke feeling troubled. Something wasn't right; he knew as he lay in his bed wide awake, staring at the painting on the wall behind which he hid the Sword of Power when he didn't need it in the Palace. Giving up on sleep for the time being, the blond, muscularly built prince went out on his balcony to take a few, deep breaths of the scented night air while he tried to figure out what was bothering him. A nagging feeling gave him the impression that Adora was somehow involved. Leaning on the railing, Adam tried to clear his thoughts and reach out with that uncanny twin link of theirs to reach Adora. No luck and that bothered him. The link was there, but he couldn't feel anything back from her. Nothing.  
  
Adam opened his eyes and looked across the carefully manicured gardens and had to look twice. His mother was heading towards the motor pool? Shaking his head in disbelief, Adam looked again. No doubt about it, it was his mother. This he had to investigate, wondering if somehow his mother's lurking towards the motor pool had anything to do with his feeling that Adora was in trouble. He turned and went back inside, hurriedly getting dressed in the dark room and grabbing his sword from its hiding spot to head after her. Cutting through the gardens was the fastest route to catch up to her, so he vaulted the railing with ease and landed gracefully on the garden path below his balcony.  
  
Setting off in a ground-eating jog along the paths, Adam closed ground on his mother until he was stopped by a message from the Sorceress.  
  
::Adam?::' The Sorceress' thought question stopped Adam in his tracks.  
  
::Yes, Sorceress? What is it?:: He answered.  
  
::I need you to come to Castle Grayskull with Queen Marlena, immediately. Adora's in trouble.:: was the answer he received, her urgency vibrating along the link.  
  
::What?:: Adam's blood ran cold. Those two words- Adora and trouble coming from the Sorceress was enough to let him know that it was serious.  
  
::Please hurry, I will explain all when you get here.:: and then she was gone, having closed the link.  
  
Adam broke into a dead run and hurried to catch up to his mother as she entered the motor pool. She had a head start on him and he needed to catch up to her now. He reached the motor pool scant seconds after she slipped thru the door. He entered right behind her and leaned almost casually against the doorframe as he remarked, while flipping on the lights, "Wouldn't it help to shed some light on the matter?"  
  
The red haired queen whirled around in surprise to face her son, her forest green dress swishing around her ankles, "Adam! What are you doing here?"  
  
"I woke up with a troubled feeling about Adora, stepped out on my balcony to get some fresh air and try to figure what it was, when I see you hurrying over here. I get dressed and hurry to catch up with you when I get a message from the Sorceress. She tells me Adora's in trouble and she needs both of us at Castle Grayskull now. Would you care to tell me what's going on?" Adam said by way of explanation. He moved over to a wind raider and hopped into the pilot's seat.  
  
Marlena stared at her son in surprise, taken off guard by his statement. "What?" was the only thing she managed to say.  
  
"Look, the Sorceress is waiting to see both of us, and I figure you can tell me on the way there," Adam answered as he started the engine on the small craft. "So, go ahead and get in already."  
  
Not used to her son being so authoritative, Marlena followed his command. She slid into the seat next to him and clicked the seatbelt into place.  
  
Once she had accomplished that, he smoothly guided the craft out of the motor pool and into the sky towards Castle Grayskull. He waited impatiently for her to tell him what she knew what was going on. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the play of emotions across her face as she began to tell him her story.  
  
"You see, Adam," she admitted with a rueful smile, "I was actually going to try and see the Sorceress myself when you caught up to me.  
  
"Why's that?" he questioned in a neutral voice. The last thing he wanted was for her not to tell him what she knew.  
  
"You see - no," she paused, shaking her head. "No, you're going to think I'm crazy."  
  
Adam gave a short laugh and a quirky smile found it way to his face, "Try me," he advised. "You might just find I'll believe you."  
  
"Well," the queen said, drawing out the word as she thought on what to tell him. "It's because of this dream, no, nightmare is what it was, I had." She paused again to take a deep breath. "I know that Adora's in trouble because of this nightmare. When will the Horde just give up and leave my family alone?"  
  
That told Adam one thing, Hordak and Shadoweaver were behind it and with Shadoweaver's dark magic, who knew what type of situation they were facing. "So, Hordak and Shadoweaver were involved?"  
  
"They were the 'masterminds' of the attack on the castle and on Adora. The attack on the castle was just a diversion and what they really wanted was either She-Ra or Adora and it was Adora they got for their evil plans."  
  
"What happened?" Adam asked carefully keeping his anger hidden. He agreed with his mother and wondered himself when the Horde would leave his sister alone.  
  
Marlena gave a brief description of the fight between Adora and Catra and then the ambush by Leech. She paused again, taking the time to pick her words about the confrontation with Hordak.  
  
Her pause, Adam thought, meant that she wasn't telling him everything, and he wondered what she was holding back on him.  
  
"Hordak said something that I'm not quite sure what he meant when Adora refused his 'generous' offer to rejoin the Horde. He said that she would be '.Doomed to wander lost in a lost world.'"  
  
Adam's hands tightened on the steering yoke and he had the worst sinking feeling in his gut now, "Lost in a lost world?"  
  
"Yes," Marlena replied. "Yes, 'Lost in a lost world' is what he said. Do you know what he meant?"  
  
"I'm afraid I do. He-Man got caught in a spell similar to that once." What he didn't add was that Man-At-Arms had had the hard task of trying to convince him to reclaim the Sword of Power and thus regaining his memory. The loss of self-identity had been rather frightening. "The Sorceress will know what we need to do to reverse the spell, I'm sure." He fell silent as he thought about why the Sorceress had wanted them both to come to the Castle. With his mother around, it would be so much more difficult to get away and make the change into He-Man wherever the Sorceress might be sending them in case they ran into trouble. So, why then, would she have requested that they both come to Grayskull? He pondered over that question the rest of the way to Grayskull and swore silently that this time Hordak would pay most severely for his actions.  
  
Both mother and son were wrapped up in their own thoughts and rode the rest of the way to Castle Grayskull in strained silence.  
  
* * *  
  
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Chelsea awoke with a start. She placed a shaky hand over her rapidly beating heart and took a couple of deep breaths before turning on the lamp on the nightstand. She received another shock when the light hit the pendant sitting on top of the clock radio and she noticed it glowing. The pendant had been a gift from the Sorceress of Grayskull in gratitude for helping to save the mystical Castle and from the truly evil magician, Skeletor and his minions. She picked up the pendant and stared at it thoughtfully for a minute. It was warm to the touch, like she had been wearing it, not that it had been sitting on top of the radio since she'd gone to bed. A quick glance at the clock radio told her it was now 2:54 am Mountain time. Too early to be awake, too late to be up, yet she knew she wouldn't get back to sleep that night. With a sigh, she pushed her curly, sleep-tousled hair back from her face and sat up straight in the bed. The pendant in her hand still glowed steadily, as if waiting for her to make a decision.  
  
With great reluctance, she got out of the warm bed and paused to glance out the window to see the wind-driven snow continue to fall heavily, still showing no signs of slowing down. She grabbed her organizer off the chair next to the window and took it with her back to the bed, wrapping herself back up in the warm covers. Finding the number she wanted in it, she picked up the phone on the nightstand and began to dial. Moments later she hit a voicemail box. Cursing, she hung up and opened the organizer back up. She found another number listed and dialed that one. This time, a cool accented female voice answered the phone, "Good morning and thank you for calling the New York Marriott Brooklyn, this is Terésa. How may I direct your call?"  
  
"Yes, may I please have room number 721, please?" Chelsea said, managing to keep her voice from trembling.  
  
"Just one moment and I will connect you, ma'am," the operator's smooth voice replied and a moment later, the phone was ringing again.  
  
"Hello?" a sleep blurred voice answered after the phone had rung close to five times.  
  
"John? It's Chelsea." her voice trailed off uncertainly, her courage faltering now that she had him on the phone.  
  
"Unh, Chelsea? Do you realize that it's." he paused, and Chelsea could hear him shifting to look at the standard alarm clock on the nightstand, "4:55 in the morning here in New York?"  
  
"Well." Chelsea began, and her voice trailed off again into silence. Her uneven breathing alerted John and she could hear him shifting again in the bed, probably propping up the pillows against the headboard and then she heard him rubbing a hand down his face, trying to clear the sleep fog from his brain.  
  
"What is it? What's wrong?" The last traces of sleep wiped from his voice now.  
  
"It's, it's just that I had one of those dreams tonight, and, well, it just left me wierded out ya'know?" Chelsea blurted out in a rush.  
  
John said, "You want to tell me about it?" It was more a statement than a question.  
  
"Yeah, I need someone else's input on this one," Chelsea answered slowly. "Just give me a minute or two to get all my thoughts together here."  
  
"Take all the time you need," John replied.  
  
Chelsea took another minute before saying anything and even then at first her words were halting and slow as she started by describing the battle.  
  
".Adora got no more than ten paces before she slipped and twisted her right knee 'cause of the mud patch. You probably won't believe me John, but it was so intense that I could feel her pain almost as if I had twisted my knee myself!"  
  
John said, "Empathy is a powerful thing. I believe you, but go on, I'm listening."  
  
Chelsea continued slowly, trying not to let the images and sensations overwhelm her. "She got back up but she was hurt." She relayed the images, the feeling that she was supposed to be doing something; anything had her twisting the phone cord in her fingers.  
  
"John, this is the really freaky part -"  
  
"Freaky as in weird freaky or scary freaky?" John asked for clarification.  
  
"Scary freaky. It was like someone walking over your own grave! What I could understand of what the fugly, and I do mean fugly chick, Shadoweaver's spell was something like this - that it wiped out all memory of who and what Adora was - everything that she had ever been. Adora was doomed to wander lost in a lost world without magic for the rest of her life..." Chelsea took a deep breath and waited for John to say something.  
  
"I can understand how frightening it would be to have a spell like that cast on anyone; but what I don't understand is, how this has anything to do with you? How are you involved in all of this?" John asked, trying to reason out the dream.  
  
"I don't know why I'm involved in this, but I am and I have to help Adora. I know I have to help her and I think I'm the only one who can help her right now. I have to find her and somehow find a way to break the spell, or rather curse, that was placed on her," Chelsea answered almost frantically.  
  
"Chelsea, listen to yourself! You're acting like a chicken without its head. You can't do anything right now. You're in the middle of a blizzard. Wait until the weather clears before going out and doing anything," John's voice was sharp.  
  
"Wait a sec here - how did you know about the blizzard?" Chelsea asked, thrown off track for the moment.  
  
"It's been plastered all over the weather reports any time I turn on the news. But that's not the point here, Chels. I want you to promise me that you're not going to go out in the storm. Think about it - you wouldn't be doing Adora any good if you get lost in the storm." John was not to be deterred from getting her to promise that she wouldn't go out in the storm.  
  
Chelsea knew that Adora didn't stand a chance in her condition of surviving the storm, but she was quiet for several moments while she thought of a way to ease John's fears and still go after Adora. Adora was on Earth, lost in the Colorado Rockies in the middle of a blizzard and her first task was finding her. She chewed on her lower lip before finally answering John, "Yeah, yeah. I guess you're right. I won't be of much use to her if I get lost in the storm myself. As much as it drives me nuts, I'll wait until the storm clears before doing anything outside."  
  
"Now you're making more sense," John commented, his relief clearly evident in his voice.  
  
Chelsea sighed and apologized, "I'm sorry I woke you up John, but this was just too powerful and left me way too freaked out."  
  
John accepted the apology at face value, "Anytime, you know that, Chels. It all comes with the job. But, do me a favor and write this all up for me? It will help you recall anything that you may have forgotten about the dream and help you focus your thoughts on what you need to do to help Adora." What John left unsaid was that it would keep her inside, he hoped, until the storm had passed.  
  
"I'll power up my laptop and start writing everything down. I don't think I'll be able to get back to sleep for quite a while," Chelsea answered. She knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep that night. She would power up her laptop and write everything down, after she'd made the attempt to find Adora.  
  
"Good," John said then made a disgusted noise. "I'm going to go make use of the hotel work out room since I don't see myself getting back to sleep either."  
  
Chelsea ducked her head and said, "I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't be, Chels. I'd rather you call me than go rushing off half-cocked," John chided. "I'm here for you, you know that."  
  
"Yeah, I do and I'm glad you are," was the answer. Chelsea found herself tongue-tied and at a loss for words to tell him exactly how she felt. She wished she was a better sender than a receiver, then she might be able to let him know how she felt, if she had the courage to do so.  
  
John changed the subject entirely and said, "I get back next week Thursday, when do you get back?"  
  
"Uhm," Chelsea was caught off guard again and said, "That Friday at like 7:30 in the evening."  
  
"Do you want to do dinner that night?" John asked.  
  
"Dinner? Sure, what time?"  
  
"Shoot for nine and I'll pick you up at your place," was the answer. "I found a new Mexican restaurant that I want to try out."  
  
"Great! I'll see you then?" Chelsea answered, hoping that she didn't sound too eager.  
  
"Right. Oh, and Chels. promise me something will ya'?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"That you won't go and do something rash?"  
  
"Who, me?" Chelsea asked, trying for innocence.  
  
"Yes, you. I know what you trouble you are capable of getting into without any effort on your part. I want you to promise me, Chels, to be careful and I want your word that you won't go out in the storm." John was quite serious.  
  
Chelsea frowned. She'd forgotten how intuitive he was. She should have known that he'd try and extract something like a promise out of her. He knew how she hated breaking her word. She chewed on her lower lip for several moments while she tried to figure out if she could work her way out of not giving him her promise.  
  
"Chelsea, I can hear the gears in your head grinding from here. The answer is no. I won't let you off the phone without giving me your promise," John said, breaking the silence.  
  
"Fine, fine," Chelsea grudgingly gave in. "I promise I'll be careful and I won't go out into the storm."  
  
"Be careful, Chels and I'll see you next week Friday," John said in parting.  
  
"I will, I will," Chelsea said before hanging up the phone. She sat in bed for a few minutes longer, plotting what her next move would be. She couldn't wait until the storm had blown itself out before going out to search for Adora. It would be too late by then, her inner sense told her.  
  
Despite her promise to John, she was going to go out and start searching for Adora. She didn't know why she was involved, or why Adora was here on Earth in Colorado, but she had to help her. 


	4. Chapter 3 Lost in a Lost World

***If you really want to read the silly disclaimer, go back to the Prologue - I am not going to post it all over again! :-p***  
  
Chapter III * * * *  
  
It was late afternoon at Castle Brightmoon on Etheria, when Captain Seahawk finally began to recover from the effects of Hordak's paralyzing stun cannon.  
  
Reality slowly dawned on him and he cried out, "Adora!" He tried to sit up, but found his muscles wouldn't obey the commands sent to them.  
  
"Just take it easy, Captain Seahawk, you had quite a night last night from what I understand." a gentle female voice reassured him.  
  
"What about Adora? Where is she? Is she all right?" Seahawk questioned, managing to put a hand to his throbbing head.  
  
"Those were some of the questions I was going to ask you. Perhaps we can work together to figure out where Adora is," the woman commented frankly. She wrung out a cool cloth and placed it back on Seahawk's forehead.  
  
"But, where am I and who are you?" Seahawk asked suddenly realizing that he did not recognize the room or the stately, blonde woman with the flowing white wings who was his nursemaid. She was familiar, but he could not remember who she was.  
  
"You are at Castle Brightmoon and I am Queen Angela. Your men brought you here after finding you unconscious in the woods after the battle. They feared that you had been grievously injured. You were lucky you were only stunned by Hordak's cannon. There are some lingering effects, like headache and dizziness, but the paralysis has mostly worn off by now. You may still find it hard to move easily, especially walking, for a few hours yet," Queen Angela provided the answers to some of his questions.  
  
"No wonder I feel like a ton of bricks was dropped on my head," Seahawk replied, his hands clenching into fists. "But, what about Adora? Where is she?"  
  
"I don't know where she is and for that, I need your help," was the solemn reply. "Do you remember what happened in the forest?"  
  
It all came back to him in perfect detail. "Perfectly," was the flat answer. "The first thing I saw when I arrived on scene was Adora trapped in a force field of some kind with Hordak and Shadoweaver standing there in front of her. Hordak said that it was her last chance to rejoin the Horde; otherwise he was going to let Shadoweaver use some new spell on her.  
  
"That was all I heard before I took a flying leap at Hordak. He hit me with a stun blast before I could reach him and I hit the ground. I didn't hear much of what Shadoweaver said after Adora told him to take his 'offer' and shove it. She said something about Adora was now doomed to wander forever lost in a lost world without magic. Adora disappeared in a whirl of black smoke and lightning and I blacked out. I don't remember anything until waking up here."  
  
"It doesn't give me much to work with, but I think I know the spell. My next step will be to find out where Shadoweaver's spell sent Adora and that will take some time. But that, I'm afraid, is something we may not have," Queen Angela replied, clearly thinking about beginning the search for Adora.  
  
"What can I do to help?" Seahawk questioned, worried about Adora. "I'll do anything to bring her up. She means more to me than my ship."  
  
"You already have, Captain Seahawk. You gave me a place to start from, and I didn't have that before," she made as if to leave, then paused. "There is one more thing you can do for me, however."  
  
"Anything, Your Majesty, just name it. I'll do anything to get Adora back," Seahawk declared passionately.  
  
"For now, Captain Seahawk all I require of you is your half of the magical pendant you share with Adora. Its magical enhancements will act as a homing beacon and will allow me to find Adora all the sooner," Queen Angela explained.  
  
"Why, um, of course, Your Majesty," Seahawk replied, allowing her to help him into a sitting position after he realized he couldn't quite manage it by himself. He then slipped the chain holding the pendant off his neck and studied the pendant intently in the palm of his hand for a long moment before handing it over to her.  
  
Even now, it was glowing softly, a potent reminder to both of them that Adora was still in danger wherever she was. Seahawk fought off an overwhelming wave of despair and clenched his hand around the pendant as he said to himself, "Oh Adora, where are you?" A moment later he unclenched his hand and almost reluctant to let it go, placed the pendant in Queen Angela's outstretched hand.  
  
"I promise you, Captain Seahawk, we will find Adora," she assured him. "Now, I must take my leave of you to begin the search for Adora. You must rest and let your body recover from the effects of the stun blast. You have someone waiting just outside to see you. He's been hovering out there quite anxiously since you were brought her last night; waiting for you to recover." She rose up from her seat on the edge of Seahawk's bed and moved towards the door.  
  
Seahawk knew that it could only be Swen hovering outside the door.. He looked up to let queen Angela know he was more than willing to talk with Swen when it finally sank in on him just who his caretaker was. His jaw dropped as he realized she was the Queen Angela, ruler of Brightmoon, one of the last kingdoms to fall to the Horde's invasion, and the first to be freed. She was also the woman who had helped him in the past rescue Adora from the clutches of the Horde.  
  
"If you will excuse me, Captain Seahawk," she said with a warm smile for him.  
  
"Why, um, of course Your Majesty." Seahawk barely managed to get out as he was held in awe by the gentleness of a woman who had the power to hold off Horde squadrons when they had attacked Castle Brightmoon.  
  
She stood aside to wave Swen into the room before taking her leave. Swen did a quick bow to her before entering the room and his face lit up at the sight of his captain sitting up in the bed.  
  
"C-Cap'n it's sure good to see you!"  
  
"Swen, are you a sight for sore eyes," Seahawk answered, slowly pulling himself up better against the pillows at his back.  
  
"And might I say the same for you, Cap'n! We were worried when we first found ye!" Swen said, shaking hands with Seahawk.  
  
The two men talked for quite some time over the battle and assorted other things. While neither one of them broached the subject of Adora's disappearance, it was foremost in their thoughts. After eating a couple of food trays with Swen, Seahawk slowly stood up and made his way to the window step by step with his first mate's help. Once by the window, he leaned against the wall and stared unseeing down at the activity in the courtyard below.  
  
Sensing his captain wanted to be left alone with his thoughts, Swen took his leave with a promise to check in on him later on.  
  
Seahawk heaved a worried sigh once he was alone, resting his hands on either side of the window frame and leaned his head against the cool glass. "Oh Adora, what have Hordak and Shadoweaver done to you now? If they've hurt you."  
  
* * * *  
  
Alone in the blizzard, Adora slowly regained consciousness. When the portal had dumped her on Earth, the winds didn't have much resistance in knocking a stunned Adora off her feet as her right knee collapsed. She hit her head on a rock just below the surface of the snow as she fell, immediately starting to stain the snow around her head and her face red. It was several long moments before Adora stirred and sat up. That was a mistake and she had to put a hand to her head to brace herself against the dizziness and nausea that assaulted her.  
  
Through chattering teeth, Adora took stock of her situation. She couldn't remember who she was and or recognize where she was. But, that was easy enough to dismiss. She was in a white covered landscape and being buffeted by high winds. "G-g-g-got t-to find shelter. C-c-can't st-t-stay here."  
  
With effort, she managed to get to her feet, being careful not to put too much weight on her bad knee. The wind slacked off, allowing her to keep her feet as she struggled to move through the deep snow. "Got to move before I freeze. Must find shelter."  
  
* * * *  
  
At Castle Grayskull on Eternia, Adam and Marlena made no attempt to hide their surprise when the Sorceress explained Shadoweaver's spell to them. They were even more shocked when she told them the spell had set Adora on Earth.  
  
"Earth?!" Marlena gasped, putting a hand to her mouth.  
  
"Earth?!" Adam echoed his mother's reaction. "Exactly why Earth?"  
  
"That I do not know right now. It is fortunate there is at least person who will help her," was the Sorceress' grave answer.  
  
"That's right! Chelsea Cameron is from Earth. But, is she even anywhere close to Adora? Earth is a pretty big planet. How would she even know where to begin searching for Adora?" Adam remarked. He remembered the young woman who had enough energy to power all the lights in the palace for at least a month and whose powers of the mind were extensive. She had played a key role in the defeat of Skeletor when he had returned from the 'grave' and managed to capture Castle Grayskull again.  
  
"The pendant I gave her combined with her own powers, undeveloped as they are, will lead her at least in the right direction. It all depends on how strong she is," the Sorceress explained.  
  
"I don't really understand and I don't think I will be able to even if you do explain it; but I have one question. How are we going to find my daughter and once we find her, how are we going to undo what this Shadoweaver has done to her?" Marlena asked confused and concerned.  
  
"All I will say is that all the Honor and Power of Castle Grayskull is behind you on this quest, Your Majesty," the Sorceress said, stressing honor and power. She knew to reveal more would be more information than the Queen needed to know and would place her in even greater danger. Using her telepathy, she told Adam, ::You must find the Sword of Protection, Adam, to undo the trickery Shadoweaver has woven with her dark magic.::  
  
::But how will I find it?:: Adam asked in return, the question echoing in his mind.  
  
::The Sword of Power will lead you to its counterpart:: was the Sorceress' reply before saying out loud, "This portal will open in the nearest populated area to Adora's location. It is in a wintry, mountainous terrain."  
  
"I guess that this is where my 'expertise' comes in handy. In order to find Adora as quickly as possible, we're going to have to look as inconspicuous as possible," Marlena thought out loud. "We'll need ski jackets, pants, gloves, hats, scarves and snow boots. We'll need money to pay for room and board while we're there, and anything else that we might need."  
  
As Marlena spoke, the Sorceress smiled and with a wave of her hands, she garbed the Queen in an emerald, white and black skit outfit and Adam in a royal blue, white and black skit outfit.  
  
Marlena was only slightly fazed by the fact that they were now wearing completely different outfits from just a moment before. She had been on Eternia long enough and seen enough to be completely surprised. She quickly thanked the Sorceress before she gathered her thoughts up and let Adam lead her through the portal.  
  
The Sorceress silently wished them a good journey and good luck before releasing a sigh and closing the portal on her end. Once Adam and Marlena made it through the other end of the portal on Earth, it would close behind them. Adam would know how to contact her to reopen the portal.  
  
The future, she thought, although shaped, is not written, so she could only hope that all would turn out right. After waiting and watching for an innumerable amount of years for the two who were destined for the Swords of Power and Protection - the sources of power for He-Man and She-Ra- the sign had come with the birth of the royal twins, Adam and Adora to King Randor and Queen Marlena. The Queen, ironically enough, was an astronaut from the planet Earth, whose ship had crash-landed on Eternia. Then, when the Horde had unsuccessfully invaded Eternia and Hordak had kidnapped Adora; she thought that all was lost after he had managed to escape through a portal to an unknown part of the galaxy.  
  
She never thought that she would see Adora again after she had searched almost every corner of the galaxy for years. But, the spirit of Grayskull never gave up the search and eventually located Adora on Etheria. Thankfully, Adam found her and helped her break the years of control spells that had been cast on her; allowing Adora to claim her true destiny. Almost all of the dangers Adora had faced so far seemed almost trivial when compared to this. The Sorceress could only wait and see since she was powerless to do anything outside the protective walls of the castle. She turned away from the closed portal and decided to go for a flight. In the blink of an eye, she transformed herself into Zôhar the Falcon, and flew out the windows of the castle to head out over the Eternian countryside.  
  
* * * *  
  
Back on Earth, the storm winds picked up again, tossing Adora about like she was nothing more than a piece of paper. She tumbled about blindly as the wind drove snow into her face.  
  
Must keep going, Adora thought to herself, arms wrapped around her body, trying to preserve her body heat. She was shivering so violently, she could barely stand. She had no idea that she had dropped her sword back where the portal had dumped her and that the winds and snow were now quickly covering it.  
  
Not too far away at Lake Dillon, Chelsea was busy prepping the house to bring Adora back. She built the fire back up in the living room with wood that was stored in the mudroom; brought down a first aid kit from her luggage; stuffed a change of clothes into her backpack before loading up her CD player in an outer pocket with her headphones before layering her own clothing up and dashing down the stairs to put on her boots and outwear. Running through the kitchen, she pulled out two coffee mugs and started the coffee pot after filling up the tea kettle and placing it on the burner to brew tea when she got back. Despite her promise to John, she was going out in the storm and bringing Adora back.  
  
She zipped up her coat after tugging on her boots and grabbed the snowmobile helmets off the shelf above the washer and dryer, picking up the keys for the snowmobile on her way out the door. Even though the door was in a sheltered alcove, the force of the wind still tore at her as she pulled and locked the laundry room door behind her. With her helmet on her head and her backpack on her back with the spare helmet strapped to the backpack, Chelsea hung on to the guide rope she had strung to get her over to the detached garage. She cut through the garage, noting that the four- wheel drive vehicle was still plugged in, making sure the battery still held a steady charge. She didn't think she would need the car before the storm cleared up, but she didn't want to need it and then not be able to get the car started. She continued on and went out the far side of the garage to get to the snowmobiles.  
  
Ever grateful that her grandfather had had the foresight to build a lean-to to store his snowmobiles, Chelsea brushed the piled snow off the tarp off the snowmobile closest to the garage door. She pulled the tarp off and tossed it into the garage behind her. Again grateful for her grandfather's foresight, in purchasing electric ignition snowmobiles, she sat down and turned the engine over. It sputtered then the engine caught and roared to life. Giving it a few moments to warm up, Chelsea secured the spare helmet to the back of the snowmobile and hit play on her CD player. She turned on the headlight and took off into the stormy night. Her pendant from the Sorceress was around her neck, against her skin, glowing warmly.  
  
She sped along with the CD player pumping Moody Blues Greatest Hits, heading for the ski slopes at Keystone Mountain, the closest of the resorts and somehow knew she'd find Adora on one of the ski slopes. Her pendant pulsed as if in agreement with this thought. Suddenly, the snowmobile hit an ice patch and spun out, the machine careened crazily before it almost rolled over on top of Chelsea. With a burst of adrenaline, she leaped clear just in the nick of time as the machine landed on its side.  
  
Chelsea landed hard on her left knee and the immediate, searing pain told her she'd done more than just strain the ligaments, she'd torn them. She rolled on to her right, clutching her knee in agony, letting out a fluid stream of curses in Celtic, English and Italian, cursing her luck and at the intense pain radiating from her knee. Her pendant worked its way out from under her clothing and into one of her hands that had clasped her knee to her chest. The pendant drew on Chelsea's powers and focused them into an intense stream of healing energy. The pendant surrounded her knee with warmth as it released the healing energies and began to knit the torn ligaments back together. Chelsea stopped cursing as the pain all but vanished and she was able to straighten her knee out with out feeling any pain or resistance. She carefully got to her feet and flexed her knee experimentally a few times before doing a deep knee bend to feel only a small twinge of protest from the freshly healed tissue.  
  
Chelsea didn't have time to question it however as the sense of urgency pressed at her again. Instead of just whispering at her to hurry, it now was chanting non-stop, "Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Her pendant which should have been ice cold to the touch since it was exposed to the howling wind and bitterly cold temperatures; was warm to the touch, even through the thick ski gloves she had on her hands. She strode over to where her helmet had fallen off and brushed the snow off it and off her stocking capped head before putting the helmet back on. Her next move was righting the stalled snowmobile.  
  
She quickly got it righted and the engine restarted. Her CD player had been cushioned in the spill and hadn't been damaged. Chelsea hit the play button and throttled the engine up before streaking off once more in the direction of Keystone Mountain.  
  
* * * *  
  
To the northwest, at the Breckenridge Resort, Adam and Marlena stepped through the portal right into the middle of the blizzard.  
  
"Whoa, we sure picked a fine time to come!" was Marlena's comment as she grabbed tightly onto Adam's arm with one hand and with the other, she made sure her coat was zipped all the way up.  
  
"We need to get out of this storm and find shelter fast!" Adam replied, putting a hand over his mother's, securing her grip on him.  
  
Fighting the wind, they moved across the compound towards the hotel and finally managed to get into the front door of the hotel and out of the wind.  
  
The front desk clerk was on the phone as they approached the desk and quickly hung up on the party on the other end. Something about the pair commanded his immediate attention and he was shocked to see that they had just come in from the outside. "May I help you?"  
  
Marlena quickly spoke up, "Yes, my son and I are in need of a room. I know that this is a bad time to try and get a room, but I'm sure you have something available for us."  
  
The clerk brought up the room inventory on his terminal and answered, "The only room I have left is the penthouse suite and the rate on that is three hundred and forty five dollars per night."  
  
"Fine, we'll take it," Marlena answered. She gave the clerk the necessary information before unzipping her coat to pull out a slim wallet and laid out a combination of five and one hundred-dollar bills. "This should cover us for four days with taxes, yes?"  
  
"Why, yes," the surprised clerk answered, verifying the amount of the money and punching that into his terminal. A moment later the cash drawer opened with a single ding of the bell. "How many key cards would you be needing?"  
  
"Two, please," was the answer.  
  
"Here's your room number, you will need your key cards not only to get into your room, but also to make the elevator go up to your floor. He nodded to the bellhop who had quietly appeared to stand at the end of the desk to take them up to their suite.  
  
Adam stood back during the exchange, watching his mother's smooth handling of the desk clerk. It was easy to see why his father loved her so much. He also realized where he and his sister got their leadership skills - from both their parents.  
  
As the bellhop queried about baggage, Marlena explained it away saying that it had been lost in transport. The young man accepted that explanation easily enough; lost luggage was not something new. He led them to the elevators on the far side of the lobby and after inserting the keycard into slot on the top of the button panel, and hit the button to take them up to the penthouse level. At their floor, he led them down the hall down to their suite. He showed them the bedrooms, the master bath, showed that the bar was fully stocked for their convenience and advised that if there was anything else they needed, they could charge it to their room at any one of the resort's shops in the hotel and in the resort village.  
  
Marlena took out her wallet and found a couple of dollar bills in it to give to the bellhop as she took her keycard back from him and showed him to the door. Locking the door behind him, she sat down on the couch with a sigh of relief. "At last, a place to get comfortable while we wait for the weather to clear." She patted the seat next to her, "Come, have a seat next to me."  
  
"All right," Adam replied, moving to sit down next to her.  
  
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong or am I going to have to drag it out of you?" Marlena asked, putting an arm around his shoulders.  
  
"I'm worried about Adora, out there all by herself," was the reply as he leaning into her comfortable embrace.  
  
"I know how you feel, Adam, really I do. That's not just a snowstorm out there, that's a blizzard. We don't know the terrain, we don't know how much snow has already fallen and that poses a high risk for avalanches. We simply cannot do anything for Adora right now. As much as I hate to admit it, we can't do anything right now. We have to wait for the weather to clear."  
  
Adam answered with a frustrated sigh, "I know, but I feel so useless just sitting here. I want to be out there looking for her, not sitting here in this plush suite. I feel like I'm not doing enough."  
  
"How do you think your father and I felt all those years before you and the Sorceress managed to find Adora and bring her home? We had no idea if she was even alive. it was the hardest thing we've ever had to do, going on with our lives and pretending that we weren't still grieving for the child we thought lost to us. But, we had to go on living. We had you and the kingdom to think about and both needed our attention." Marlena's voice trailed off as she became lost in the past for the moment thinking about how fast time had seemed to alternately fly and drag out as the years stretched by from the day that Hordak had broken into the nursery and gotten away with Adora until she had returned with Adam.  
  
"I didn't understand at first when He-Man and I first found her who she was, and even when the Sorceress explained the story to us, I was still in a bit of disbelief. Now that I've gotten to know her, I wonder how I could have missed having a sister all these years." Adam said, willing the muscles in his shoulders to relax.  
  
"I have a feeling that your father and I and Man-At-Arms would never have heard the end of arguments and mischief you two and Teela would have gotten into. It was bad enough with just you and Teela, but I hesitate to think about what the three of you would have been like together."  
  
She was quiet for a moment, clearly thinking about something, "You know, Adam, I'm not entirely convinced by your outward appearance of laziness and clumsiness, or whatever other guises you hide behind. There is so much more to you than meets the eye -"  
  
Adam had to force himself to keep his relaxed pose as he carefully said, "Well, I guess there is more to me than meets the eye. Just as there is to you. Who ever would have thought that you were once an astronaut?"  
  
Marlena gave Adam a sharp glance for his interruption, "There is much more to you than meets the eye, Adam. My mother's intuition tells me that. I haven't put it all together quite yet, but sooner or later I will."  
  
"There are things that if you and Father knew about, it would place you in danger. Take this situation with Adora, I don't know why you're involved in it and I'm afraid of you getting hurt."  
  
"Even though I've been queen for an unmentionable number of years -" She shot him a warning glance not to say a word, "- doesn't mean that I've forgotten how to defend myself. I may not be in combat shape, but I do know some moves. In fact, Teela learned some of her moves from me when I really used to spar with Duncan. These days, well, the time just doesn't seem to be there any more."  
  
"More insight into my mother's colorful past," Adam commented, trying to keep her from pursuing the subject about how he wasn't what he seemed.  
  
Marlena sensed that he wasn't going to say anything more about himself and went along with him and said, "That was before I had you and Adora, when I was young and rambunctious. Before I was lucky enough to become an astronaut."  
  
"Lucky for me and Adora, you did become an astronaut," was Adam's response. He leaned forward to prop his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his hands. "I feel like we're wasting time that could be spent out there looking for Adora. It's not that I don't enjoy talking to you - I am, it's something we don't do enough. I know it's not only stupid, but dangerous and completely irrational, but I still feel like we need to be out there looking for Adora now."  
  
"I know, Adam, I know. I also understand why you think that this might be dangerous for me to be involved. I understand that Hordak and Shadoweaver are dangerous. I know that they are underhanded pieces of slime. I'm flattered by your concern, and I thank you for that, but I'm not completely helpless here, as I've mentioned. You've also got to remember, this was my home for many years before I was thrown off course and crashed on Eternia. I believe I'm here to help you find Adora without getting entangled with the authorities. Earth, at this point in time, is not quite ready to believe that there is life out there among the stars. The authorities would think you were crazy and lock you away if you told them you were from a different planet," Marlena answered, looking off into the distance.  
  
"I guess they would at that," Adam said, knowing she was right from his own experiences.  
  
Marlena patted him on the shoulder with one hand, before removing her other arm from around his shoulders. "Why don't you go down to the lobby and see what maps of the area you can find? There should be a stand somewhere near the front desk where we checked in that will have pamphlets for all the ski resorts in the area. There may be an accurate map there that we can use to start looking for Adora."  
  
"Are you thinking about going out after her in this storm after all?" Adam asked.  
  
"Of course not. Adora's memory may be nothing right now, but that won't overrule the basic instincts of survival; which will tell her what to do. I know she will find a way to get out of the storm to a safe shelter." She didn't add that she thought Chelsea was just crazy enough to be out there in the storm. "While you do that, I'm going to start looking in the phone book and see if can find a listing for a Chelsea Cameron. If there isn't, I'm going to have to call all the Camerons listed and then all the resorts in the area to see if she's registered there." Marlena said, hoping that she wouldn't have to resort to that. She could spend the next three days calling every hotel in a hundred-mile radius and still not find Chelsea if she didn't have a room registered in her name. She seriously hoped that this would be the easier part on why they were sent to Earth. She wasn't looking forward to making dozens upon dozens of phone calls. Of the things they had to accomplish here, she hoped that this would be the easiest.  
  
Adam stood up and headed off for one of the secondary bedrooms to take off his insulated outerwear before heading downstairs. Marlena slowly got off the couch and headed into the master bedroom to get comfortable herself.  
  
Moments later, she heard Adam leaving the suite and Marlena looked longingly towards the shower. A nice, long, hot shower was calling her name. That was the one thing she missed from Earth. Despite all the technology in the palace, she had never could get the shower adjusted to the right temperature. It was either too hot or too cold. Although, there had been more than a few times where the temperature hadn't mattered, especially when they were shared with her husband. The urge was too strong to resist and after taking off the snow pants, sweater and boots, she padded in socked feet into the bathroom to take a hot shower.  
  
It took her a moment to remove the clip and pins from her hair, allowing it to come tumbling down her back. When she had slipped from the palace earlier in the night, she had done a hasty job of putting her up, so it didn't take much to release it. She ran her fingers through it briefly as she turned on the water in the shower and adjusted the water to the right temperature.  
  
By the time that she finally emerged from the shower, the bathroom was a giant steam room and Marlena felt better and more able to face the daunting task of making numerous phone calls trying to locate her daughter. She pulled her damp hair back and secured it off her face with the clip then dressed herself in the white turtleneck and the lined emerald green sweatpants. When she came out to the living room, she saw that Adam had done the same and was now looking at a map he had spread out on the coffee table.  
  
"You found a map, I see," she commented, sitting down beside him.  
  
"Yes, the desk clerk keeps a supply for the guests," Adam answered. He pointed to a spot he had circled, "Here's where we are."  
  
"Breckenridge Resort, right in the middle of the Summit County ski area," Marlena answered. "I used to come skiing up here."  
  
"This area is huge. How are we going to find Adora?" Adam asked, staring at the map.  
  
"We work with Chelsea. She's got the ability to be lead us to her faster," Marlena said, rubbing Adam's arm. She moved over to the desk on the far side of the room that had a small stack of phone books that looked like they were barely used and picked up the white pages. Moving back to sit next to Adam, she flipped to the C's and began looking for any C or Chelsea Camerons listed. There were about fifty Camerons, and a few just listed with C Cameron, but it was the Morrigan and Moriah on Golden Run that she kept coming back to. Something about it tickled at the back of her mind. She took the phone book with her back to the desk where she wrote down the number on a pad of paper she found in the desk drawer before picking up the phone and dialing the number.  
  
Adam watched his mother with a puzzled expression, wondering if she'd found something.  
  
Marlena waited for the fourth ring when an answering machine picked up and a familiar voice said, "Hi, you've reached Mori and Mori's answering machine. Guess what? They're off in the San Juan Islands whale watching! So, if you're looking for them, press star one to leave a message. Now, this is Chelsea and I can't make it to the phone right now either, so press star two to leave me a message. But, if you're a telemarketer, go away because no one will call you back!" The last was said with a definite laugh. Marlena pressed the right buttons to reach Chelsea's voice mailbox and left her own message, "Chelsea, this is Marlena. Are you there? If you are, please pick up the phone - " she didn't think she would reach her once the answering machine picked up, but had to try. "Chelsea, a. strange twist of fate has led me back here and I hope you can help me. I need your help in finding someone. I just hope you're not crazy enough to be out in this storm looking for her. Look, I'm here with Adam and we're staying at the Breckenridge Resort in the penthouse suite. The number here is." she gave the phone number, before saying, "Be safe, Chelsea. I don't want you to get hurt while trying to help me. Just call me as soon as you get this message, please."  
  
She hung up the phone and turned to Adam, "Now all we can do is wait and see what happens first. Hopefully Chelsea will call back with some news or this storm will break. I'm going to go watch the weather reports and see when this will let up. Don't stay up too much later, Adam. We might have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."  
  
"I won't. I just want to study this map a bit better. Do you have an address for Chelsea?" he answered.  
  
Marlena picked the phone book back up and looked at the numbers for a moment. She rubbed her eyes and read out the numbers to him, "Morrigan and Moriah Cameron are listed at 4866 Golden Run Court, Lake Dillon."  
  
Adam repeated the numbers back to her, "4866 Golden Run Court. I just want to note it on the map and work at triangulating a possible position for Adora between where we are and where Chelsea is." What he didn't add was that if his triangulations were correct, he might be able to find her sword, the one thing he had a feeling would be needed to break the spell over her.  
  
Marlena looked blindly out the windows across the room before rubbing her eyes tiredly. "I think I'm going to try and get some sleep. I'll check the weather reports on when the storm is supposed to break on the TV in my room." She moved back across the room to stand behind Adam. She rubbed his shoulders for a moment before bending over to place a kiss on top of his head. "You should try to get some sleep yourself, Adam."  
  
"I will, I just want to finish this first," Adam answered, looking back over his shoulder at her.  
  
"All right then. Don't stay up too late then," Marlena said giving him a pat on his shoulder as she left the room.  
  
Marking off on the map the resort, he looked to the legend to find the street that his mother had read off to him; he then looked back to the map to mark that off. He looked for the triangulation point to the east and saw that if he drew straight line to the northeast from the resort, it would place him in the middle of Denver. He shook his head, that didn't fit He looked to the west and saw that it would place him in the heart of the skiing area and the Sorceress did say that the portal would put them near Adora in the mountains. He drew a diagonal line with a pencil and then another one from where he approximated the address to be in the grid coordinates, near Lake Dillon. The lines intersected at the Copper Mountain Resort, about fifteen miles from their current location. Shuffling through the pamphlets he'd picked up down at the front desk, he found the one for Copper Mountain. Opening it up, he looked at the ski trails for the mountain. There was a lot of ground to cover in the Copper Mountain area, if indeed that was where Adora had landed. They had their work cut out for them trying to find Adora's sword.  
  
With a sigh, he leaned back and stretched his back. He had done enough for now and it was all a waiting game from here. Adam got up off the couch and moved to stare blindly at the whiteout conditions outside the window. He rested his head against the cool glass for a moment, gathering his strength from the howling storm outside. He straightened up and headed back towards his bedroom, passing his mother's room along the way.  
  
Marlena was stretched out on the large bed, with pillows propped up behind her back and another under her knees. The TV was on and the volume low, providing the only light in the room. She looked up as Adam paused in the doorway and said, "It looks like we have a couple of days to go before this storm breaks."  
  
"Just great. It looks like Adora came through at the Copper Mountain area, if my triangulations are right." Adam commented.  
  
"I'll see about getting ski passes and look into transportation to there tomorrow."  
  
"Right," Adam said, "Good night, then."  
  
"Night," Marlena said around a yawn.  
  
Adam continued on towards his room, quietly closing the door behind him. He reached into the closet and pulled out the Sword of Power. He pointed the Sword towards the northwest where he thought that Adora had come through. The sword glowed faintly, letting him know that the Sword of Honor was out there, that it had come through the portal with Adora. Sighing, Adam put his sword back away in the closet and moved back to lean against the windows. He closed his eyes and tried to reach her through their link as twins and could feel nothing. It was like that had been cut off. He couldn't feel her at all, couldn't even get a sense if she had even found some sort of safe shelter yet.  
  
"Oh, Adora, where are you? I know you're out there somewhere, but where? I can't even feel you anymore. I can't tell if you're alive or dead. Hordak and Shadoweaver have to pay for what they've done this time. By all means, they will be sorry."  
  
Adam let out a long sigh a moment later as he pushed off the window and laid down on the bed. He crossed his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling for a long time as the radio, tuned into a soft rock station, played softly in the background. The lyrics of the song were somehow fitting, "I woke up today, I was crying,  
  
Lost in a lost world, 'Cos so many people are dying, Lost in a lost world."  
  
Eventually, exhaustion won out and Adam fell asleep.  
  
* * * *  
  
Out in the storm, Chelsea continued her search for Adora. She was determined not to give up until she found Adora. She had an extra gas can strapped to the back of the snowmobile, her head and face were protected by the helmet and she had on enough insulating layers on her body to ward off frostbite, but she knew that her hands and feet would be the most vulnerable, even with the insulated gloves, socks and boots. She paused to give her hand a rest from gripping the throttle and pulled her pendant out from under her jacket. The pendant was glowing even brighter now and she could feel its warmth penetrating through her gloves even faster than before. She was getting closer, but her own energy levels were flagging.  
  
Chelsea decided a change of music would be in order and pulled her backpack off in order to dig for her small CD wallet and to change out the CDs. She flipped through the wallet looking for the right music. She passed by ZZ Top and Duran Duran and stopped at Tempest. The name of the Celtic rock band fit the weather and their music would work to keep her awake. She pulled her CD player out of its cushioned layers and pressed the stop button. Then her head jerked up as she heard a noise that didn't match the howling winds.  
  
"What was that?" She said out loud, her head swiveling to try and pinpoint the noise. Music forgotten, she reached out to turn the handlebars to look through the swirling snow. As soon as she turned to the far left, the headlight shone upon a young woman who couldn't be much older than Chelsea herself.  
  
The young woman was wearing a red bodysuit with what had once been white sleeves. One sleeve was now stained with the pale rust red of dried blood from a very nasty gash on her right temple. She stood on very shaky, unstable legs and her face was even whiter than the snow, except for the stain of frozen blood on the side of her face. Her expression was a combination of fear, desperation and pain. Then, her eyes took on a glazed over look before they rolled back in her head and she crumpled towards the ground unconscious once more.  
  
With a startled exclamation of "Oh shit!" Chelsea leaped from the snowmobile and raced to catch the young woman from her vision before she cut her head open again on a rock with a sharp looking tip on it that was sticking up just barely out of the snow. Her helmet flew off in the process of catching Adora in the nick of time.  
  
"Thank you, Goddess! I almost didn't think that I would find you!" Chelsea said relieved, more to herself than to the unconscious woman. She slid the backpack off and dug for her first aid kit in the bottom of the main pocket.  
  
"Come on, Adora, wake up here. You can't go to sleep yet." Chelsea said as she began her attempts to revive her. She gently slapped Adora's cheeks and got a moan for an answer. She rooted through the first aid kit and dug out the smelling salts. She broke the ammonia tablet under Adora's nose and she came back to consciousness with a wheezing gasp and feebly tried to push Chelsea's arm away.  
  
"C-cold. S-so c-cold," Adora stuttered, her eyes unfocused as she looked at Chelsea.  
  
"I know. We'll get you to some place warm in a few minutes here, but you've got to stay awake here, Adora." Chelsea assured her, using alcohol soaked gauze pads to wipe the blood off her face and clean the wound. It was nasty looking and Adora would probably need stitches to close it properly without leaving an ugly scar. Working quickly, she closed the head wound with a pair of butterfly bandages, then put a gauze pad over the strips, securing that in place with medical tape.  
  
Keeping a stream of one-sided conversation going with Adora, Chelsea's next step was to dig out the instant heat packs she had picked up and stuffed in one of the outer pockets of her backpack. She broke the seal on one and placed it on Adora's chest, before wrapping the extra ski jacket she had packed around Adora to hold the heat in. Her next step was to wrap an ace bandage around the damaged knee.  
  
Adora winced and hissed when Chelsea carefully straightened her knee and Chelsea said, "I know it hurts, but the heat should help with some of the pain."  
  
It took her some moments longer to slip snow pants on Adora without puling her boots off. As she worked, Chelsea asked, "Besides your head and your knee, are you hurt anywhere else?"  
  
"C-cold. S-so c-cold," Adora repeated, clearly unable to think past.  
  
"I know, Adora, I know. We'll be heading out of the weather soon enough, just hang in there for me, okay?" Chelsea answered, helping Adora slowly sit up. She dug back in her backpack and got out another sealed package and ripped it open. She activated the second heat pack, and placed it on Adora's lower back. "The heat packs should help to start to bring your core temperature back up, Adora. Now, let's finish getting these ski pants on you."  
  
She managed to pull the ski pants the rest of the way up on Adora, grateful that they were loose enough to go on without problem. She then dug the gloves out of one pocket and then a stocking cap out of the other. It was almost like dressing a child; Adora was so numb with exhaustion and pain that she couldn't do anything for herself.  
  
Adora was slipping back towards unconsciousness again; seeing this, Chelsea waved the ammonia tablet back under Adora's nose. "Come on, Adora, stay with me here. I need you to stay awake."  
  
"N-need h-help. So c-cold," Adora chattered.  
  
"That's why I'm here. Just a little bit longer now and I'll let you get some rest," Chelsea assured her, putting the first aid kit back in her backpack. She changed out the Moody Blues CD for a Tempest one, managing to shield the player from the blowing snow. She stuffed the player back in the backpack, placing the CD wallet in front of it to act as a buffer before zipping the main compartment shut. She closed the outer pockets before slipping her arms through the straps to put the pack in front for the trip home versus on her back. "Adora, I need you to help me here. I need for you to help me get you on your feet. I can't pick you up and carry you back to the snowmobile here."  
  
Adora leaned heavily on Chelsea as she slipped an arm around Adora's waist and pulled Adora's right arm across her shoulders. Chelsea managed to get Adora to her feet and by bracing Adora's right side against her and not letting Adora place much weight on the damaged knee, got her seated on the snowmobile.  
  
Chelsea grabbed her helmet off the ground and dusted it off before putting it back on her head. She stuffed her pendant back down in her jacket and zipped it up tight. With the CD player pumping out Tempest into her earphones, Chelsea unhooked the spare helmet from the back of the snowmobile and helped Adora put it on before getting on in front of her.  
  
Chelsea revved the throttle and told Adora, "Hang on tight. We're going to make some serious time back to my grandfather's house now where I've got a roaring fire waiting for us to thaw out in front of and warm, dry clothing for you to change into."  
  
Adora managed to wrap her arms around Chelsea's waist and hang on as Chelsea opened the throttle up all the way and fly across the ground at what seemed like terrifyingly, blurry speeds in her dazed state.  
  
Chelsea only paused briefly to check the GPS unit she had placed on top of the front storage compartment to make sure they were heading back the right way. The second time she stopped was to fill the gas tank back up to ensure they would have enough gas to make it back to her grandfather's house. It took about another thirty minutes flying across the roads, fields and through the woods to reach the house. She pulled the snowmobile up next to the mudroom door and helped Adora off the snowmobile and into the house. She settled Adora on the couch and turned on the coffee pot and the burner for the teakettle before heading back outside to park the snowmobile in its alcove on the far side of the garage. She covered the machine up and stuffed her mobile GPS unit back in a coat pocket before she cut through the garage on her way back to the house, hanging onto the guide rope for dear life as the winds surged stronger than before.  
  
Once inside the mudroom, Chelsea stripped out of her outer layers and boots before grabbing another armload of split logs to toss on the fire. She would need it hot in the living room to bring Adora's temperature back up to a safe level, not to mention that she was chilled herself. Dumping the firewood next to the fireplace, Chelsea stirred the fire and placed one of the logs on it, since it was still burning rather well. She went upstairs to get her flax pillows to heat up in the microwave, sweat pants, sweat shirt and socks for Adora to wear. By the time she returned downstairs, Adora was looking more alert as she began to warm up.  
  
"I'll have a mug of coffee for you in a minute here, laced with plenty of sugar and cream to make it palatable," Chelsea said, setting down her load on the couch next to Adora. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Not so cold now," was the slow answer from Adora.  
  
"The coffee will help," Chelsea answered, crouching down in front of Adora. She checked Adora's pulse and found it still sluggish and her eyes were unevenly dilated, a sure sign of concussion. There'd be limited sleep for either one of them tonight, Chelsea thought to herself. She'd have to check on Adora every two hours to make sure she didn't lapse into a coma. "As soon as I get your coffee and me a mug of tea, I'll help you change clothes, Adora."  
  
"Adora?" she questioned, trying to clear the cobwebs from her head. "Is that my name? I can't remember."  
  
"Yes, your name's Adora. I have a lot to try and explain to you, but let me get the coffee and tea first."  
  
"Why don't I know my own name?" Adora questioned, her expression almost panicked.  
  
"That's part of what I have to explain," Chelsea assured her with a pat on the hand she was holding. "I don't have all the answers yet myself, but I will tell you what I know. I promise."  
  
Chelsea got up and headed into the kitchen. She poured a big mug of coffee for Adora, going heavy on the sugar and flavored cream. She needed something to keep her from going into shock. For herself, she poured the boiling water from the teapot over an apple-orange blend tea and squeezed a fair amount honey into it for herself. She stirred both so they were blended and noticed that the answering machine light was blinking.  
  
The only one she could think who would be calling her would be John to see if she had stuck to her promise, but there was always the possibility that it was an emergency call about her grandparents. Chelsea stood there for a long minute, her lower lip caught between her teeth before deciding to come back to the machine in a minute after she delivered Adora's coffee mug to her.  
  
She put the steaming mugs on the end table next to Adora and then sat down on the coffee table in front of Adora. "Your clothes are soaked through, Adora. I brought down clean clothes for you."  
  
"Still cold," Adora answered.  
  
"I know, and that's easy to fix. First let's get rid of your coat," Chelsea said, speaking in warm, reassuring tones.  
  
Adora slowly unwrapped herself from the afghan that Chelsea had wrapped her in. Her coordination was off and it was clear that she was hanging onto consciousness by a thin grasp. Chelsea helped her out of the folds of the afghan and then helped her take the coat off. The tricky part was getting her on her feet long enough to pull the ski pants off her. Sitting Adora back down on the couch, Chelsea sat back down on the coffee table and had to fight to get Adora's soaked left boot off. It came off with a suddenness that almost sent Chelsea tumbling over backwards off the coffee table.  
  
Chelsea checked Adora and saw her grimacing. "Only one more boot to go and then we'll work on getting dry clothes on you. This is the one that's going to hurt more, since I'll be tugging more on your bad leg."  
  
"I understand;" Adora said, her head titled back and resting against the cushion.  
  
Chelsea doubted that, but was gentle when she picked up Adora's booted right foot and straightened out the knee in order to pull the boot off. The swelling from Adora's damaged knee made the boot even harder to pull off and Adora hissed with each tug. When the boot finally did come off, Chelsea did fall off the coffee table. Adora let out an involuntary yelp of pain as her foot thudded against the table and the impact jarred her damaged knee.  
  
If anything, the pain managed to clear the cobwebs from Adora's head. Chelsea scrambled back up, apologizing, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Adora."  
  
Adora exhaled a hissing breath and shifted on the couch, sitting more upright. It was a long moment before she opened her eyes again and said, "It's okay." She reached over with both hands and picked up the coffee mug Chelsea had made for her, wrapping her hands around it and soaking up the warmth from it.  
  
"I'm afraid your boots are probably toast, Adora. They got too wet," Chelsea apologized, checking the swelling on Adora's right knee.  
  
"What happened to me? How do you know who I am?" Adora questioned Chelsea before taking a sip of the coffee.  
  
"Ah, like I said, that's a tale to be told," Chelsea said, picking up her own mug and taking a sip. "Let me start with the easy part. My name is Chelsea Cameron and you are at my Grandfather Morrigan and Grandmother Moriah Cameron's house at Lake Dillon in Colorado on planet Earth. As for how this all started for me- I had a nightmare that began with you sneaking outside the walls of a castle that was under attack with a group of soldiers defending the castle-"  
  
"I was at a castle and it was under attack?" Adora questioned, again sipping the coffee.  
  
"Yes, you were," Chelsea said as she put clean socks on Adora. She took another sip of her tea before setting her mug aside. She helped Adora out of her mud caked, blood soaked bodysuit and into the sweats she had brought down for her while Chelsea continued on with what she had seen in her nightmare. "You were jumped in the woods by one of your former compatriots, the most pleasant person you could ever hope to have stab you in the back."  
  
"That bad?" Adora asked, allowing Chelsea to wrap her back up n the afghan after helping her into the clean clothes.  
  
"Yes, she's a real charmer from what I could see," Chelsea answered, taking another sip of her tea. Only now that she was sitting, did she feel the weariness creeping back in and she was developing an ache in the small of her back from all her lifting and time spent on the snowmobile. She would want one of her flax pillows heated up for her back. Before she delved back into the story, she wanted to get those pillows in the microwave and get them heated up. "How are you feeling? Starting to thaw out yet?"  
  
"I don't know what hurts worse - my head or my knee," Adora answered after a moment's consideration. "I still feel like I'm frozen solid. I can feel the heat packs, but I'm still so cold."  
  
"I've got a few more things I can heat up that should help. Do you need a refill on your coffee yet?" Chelsea asked, pushing herself off the coffee table and standing up.  
  
Adora looked at her mug and said, "Not yet."  
  
"All right. But, I do want you to drink it up. You need the caffeine to bring your blood pressure and sugar levels back up to a normal level," Chelsea stated, moving over to pick up the flax pillows to heat in the microwave.  
  
In the kitchen, Chelsea put the first pillows - a pair of booties, in the microwave. Her conscience was nagging at her too much to allow her to continue to ignore the answering machine. She hit the playback button and listened to the synthesized voice say, "You have one message. Message received on Thursday at three fifty four am."  
  
Chelsea felt the floor drop out from her when she heard the voice on the tape, "Chelsea, this is Marlena."  
  
She rewound the tape and played the message twice more before she could believe that it was Marlena. "Oh, Goddess! Thank you!"  
  
The microwave beeped and Chelsea pulled the booties out and replaced them with a u-shaped neck pillow and reset the timer to heat that up next. The booties were nice and toasty in her hands as she set them aside long enough to write down the number that Marlena had given her. She wrote down "Strange twist of fate all right!" after jotting down the number, resort name and Marlena. She then drew a line to the bottom and wrote Adora under it.  
  
Chelsea couldn't believe it. Her suspicions on who Adora was were all but confirmed now. She looked at the clock on the wall. It was now almost five am. She didn't want to call Marlena now. She'd call her once she'd gotten a few hours sleep, because she was dead on her feet as it was now and she still needed to tend to Adora. Carrying the booties, Chelsea went back out to the living room.  
  
Adora was half-asleep, watching the fire and looked up when Chelsea returned.  
  
"I've got another pillow heating up that should be done in another minute. I've got a pair of booties here that should warm up your feet. If you're like me, if you're feet are cold, then no matter what, you can't get warm," Chelsea said with a half smile. She knelt down and unwrapped the afghan to put the booties on Adora's feet.  
  
Adora closed her eyes and sighed, "That feels good."  
  
"I'm a big believer in using natural therapies whenever possible," Chelsea commented. "And, right now, that's almost all I have. I need to get you to an ER, but we're snowed in until the storm breaks."  
  
"ER?" Adora asked, puzzled.  
  
"Emergency Room," Chelsea answered. Just then the microwave beeped, letting her know the second pillow was done. "Your knee needs more attention than my very limited skills can do for you. I'll be right back with another pillow and some mild painkillers. That should take the edge off your headache and hopefully help the knee."  
  
Adora nodded slightly, not wanting to move her head too much.  
  
Chelsea got to her feet and headed back into the kitchen one more time. The adrenalin surge that had kept her moving in her quest to find Adora had worn off and now, determination only kept her on her feet. She pulled the neck pillow out of the microwave and put in the heart shaped pillow to heat up next. That one she would use for her lower back; which was starting to complain loudly. She opened up one of the cabinets and grabbed the bottle of Tylenol on the bottom shelf. She had just enough tea left to swallow a couple for herself. She looked again at the note she'd written about Marlena's message. Like she had decided a few minutes ago, she would call Marlena after she'd gotten a few hours sleep. Chelsea plodded back to the living room with the neck pillow and Tylenol.  
  
"Here's another pillow for your neck, Adora," she said, placing the pillow around Adora's neck. Her skin was still too cool to the touch, but no longer ice cold. She then said, "Hold out your hand, I've got some Tylenol for your head and knee."  
  
Adora drowsily did as told and swallowed the pills down with the coffee. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion and Chelsea knew they'd never make it upstairs to the guest bedrooms tonight.  
  
"I'm going to go get some stuff from upstairs. I'll be back in a few minutes," Chelsea said. "We're both way too tired to try and get you upstairs into a real bed tonight, so I'm grabbing pillows, blankets and bedding."  
  
Adora agreed, "Sleep seems like a good idea."  
  
Chelsea hauled herself upstairs and made two trips to get everything she needed downstairs after she changed out of her layers of long johns and jeans and sweats and back into her leggings and oversized jersey nightshirt. She helped Adora to comfortably lay down on the couch with her knee carefully propped up before covering her with not only a comforter, but with a heavy Peruvian Llama's wool blanket.  
  
Adora settled into the cushions and eyed Chelsea's shirt warily, "Wicked?"  
  
"Yeah, Maleficent, she's the evil sorceress in one of the best animated versions of an old Earth fairy tale - Sleeping Beauty. It was a gift from a friend when she visited Disney World in Orlando, Florida. She thought it was cute since I like the story so much. Don't worry; I'll explain it all later. We're both too tired for either of us to explain it all."  
  
Adora yawned and said, "I think I have to agree with you."  
  
Chelsea took their mugs and placed them in the kitchen sink and then leaned against the counter while the microwave heated the flipside of the large heart shaped pillow. She rubbed her tired eyes and looked at the notepad next to the answering machine. Thank the Goddess Marlena had called. She would be able to get Adora back to where she belonged much easier than Chelsea could. Her thoughts turned again to her guest/patient on the couch. She sighed heavily. Adora needed to be in the hands of a much more experienced healer. She looked down at her hands. She had the power, but it was still an erratic power at best. She didn't know how to consciously tap into it yet to use it and she was afraid that she would do more harm than good for Adora if she tried to call the power. The microwave beeped, bringing her thoughts back to the here and now. Chelsea took the pillow out of the oven and turned the lights out in the kitchen as she headed back to the living room.  
  
Adora had her eyes half closed on the pillow, watching the fire when Chelsea returned.  
  
"How's the head?" Chelsea asked quietly.  
  
"Still throbbing," Adora answered. "From the looks of the weather outside, I guess I should be grateful I can feel every ache from my toes to my head. Even the ends of my hair hurt."  
  
"We have a saying, 'Been there, done that,' and I know what you're feeling. Man, do I know what you're feeling," Chelsea answered, pulling her airbed out of its sack and unfolding it. Within a minute, she had the bed inflated and was spreading out her blankets on top of it. There were a few other minor things she needed to do before she could crawl into that inviting haven of blankets and pillows and by the time she collapsed onto the airbed with the blankets pulled up almost over her head, she was asleep before her head hit the pillows.  
  
Adora lay half awake for a while, her throbbing head and knee keeping her from falling asleep right away. She watched the dancing flames in the fireplace for some time before she was finally wrapped in the soft arms of Morpheus. 


	5. Chapter 4 Bounded by the Darkness of The...

***If you really want to read the silly disclaimer, go back to the Prologue - I am not going to post it all over again! :-p***  
  
Chapter IV * * * *  
  
Morning dawned in the Colorado Rockies, but it brought no change to the raging storm. The sun was still hidden behind the heavy clouds and swirling snow as Chelsea dragged herself up out of the comfortable nest she had made on the floor with the airbed when the alarm on her cell phone went off. She reset the alarm for another hour before getting up to wake up Adora. She hated to do it, but she knew the procedure for a person who had a concussion - every hour wake them up to make sure that they didn't slip into a coma or anything like that.  
  
She put a hand on Adora's shoulder and said, "Adora, wake up."  
  
Adora immediately woke up, her body tense and vibrating under Chelsea's hand. The blue eyes were clouded with confusion as she tried to place her surroundings.  
  
"Easy, Adora," Chelsea said, sending warmth and reassurance through the physical link. "It's just me, Chelsea."  
  
"Oh," Adora answered, her muscles relaxing under Chelsea's hand.  
  
"Sorry to do it, but I had to wake you up. It's one of those things you have to put up with when you have a head injury like yours," Chelsea apologized.  
  
"I feel like I just got to sleep," Adora stated.  
  
"I don't doubt that. How are the head and knee?" she asked, checking Adora's eyes. They still seemed to be unevenly dilated to her untrained eye, but at least Adora was responsive.  
  
Adora said, "Still there, but at least it's down to a dull throb now."  
  
"We'll try upping the dosage on the Tylenol in a couple of hours here and see if that helps. Do you want anything to drink?"  
  
"I am a bit thirsty," Adora admitted.  
  
"Something hot or cold?"  
  
"Cold. I'm beginning to swelter under all these covers now," Adora answered.  
  
"That Peruvian wool blanket can get hot even by itself. But, do you want water, apple or orange juice?"  
  
"Sweet- Apple juice," was the answer.  
  
"I'll be right back with that," Chelsea answered, dragging her tired body into the kitchen to get the juice for Adora. She returned with it moments later and helped Adora sit up to drink it. "Now, do you need to use the bathroom?"  
  
"Yeah, now that you mention it." Adora answered.  
  
"That's what I'm here for," Chelsea said. "Thankfully, there is a bathroom on this floor." She helped Adora to her feet and then slowly they made their way to the bathroom. "If you need me, I'll be right outside the door. There's a trashcan next to the sink in case the nausea gets too bad."  
  
Adora nodded as she leaned heavily against the vanity, "Right."  
  
A few minutes later, Chelsea helped her back to the couch and Chelsea could see that the effort cost Adora. She was again a pasty gray and she was sweating as Chelsea helped her sit down.  
  
Chelsea sat Adora down and went back to the bathroom to get the thermometer. She was worried that Adora might now start to run a fever and develop pneumonia from her exposure to the extreme cold after getting thoroughly drenched during the battle. She could keep Adora stabilized with a concussion and shredded knee until the weather broke and she could deliver her to her family, but pneumonia was way out of her league. She racked her memory to think what herbs she might have that would help to ward off that sort of infection. Nothing that was strong enough. She may travel with a fully stocked first aid kit and an assortment of flax pillows, but she didn't have any herbs that would be enough to combat a serious case of pneumonia. She hadn't had enough acupuncture training yet to fight the infection that way. She returned to the living room with the digital thermometer in hand and said, "I want to make sure you're not getting a fever on me here, Adora. Place this under your tongue for a minute here."  
  
"Sure," Adora said, taking the thermometer and doing as Chelsea asked.  
  
Chelsea found her watch and checked Adora's pulse while she waited for the thermometer to give a reading. Her pulse was a little fast, but it was steady. The thermometer beeped and Chelsea looked at the numbers - 99.3 F. A sign of a low-grade fever and to Chelsea, it meant that she had to continue the Tylenol course of treatment, but ruled out massage to ease the headache until the fever was gone. Her thoughts were chasing themselves in an endless circle and she didn't know she was frowning until Adora's voice broke in on her thoughts.  
  
"Is it that bad?" Adora questioned.  
  
"Huh? Oh, no," Chelsea answered. "You're running a low fever, but that we can manage with the Tylenol. It just throws my other plans out the window," Chelsea reassured her. "I'm just chasing some thoughts in a circle right now, trying to decide how to treat your injuries and hitting some roadblocks."  
  
"Are you a healer of some sorts?" Adora asked, settling back on the couch.  
  
"Healer in training," Chelsea answered, helping Adora pull her right leg up on the couch, making sure to support the knee. "I came prepared for minor emergencies, since I'm going to have a bunch of friends up here next week to go skiing."  
  
"Ah," Adora said and yawned again.  
  
Chelsea echoed it again. "Try to get back to sleep and I'll give you some more Tylenol in a couple of hours here for the headache and to keep your fever down."  
  
"That's a good idea," Adora said closing her eyes and relaxing back into the pillows.  
  
Chelsea collapsed back into her pile of blankets and pillows on the airbed and had to work on meditation exercises in order to clear her mind to get back to sleep.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
When the alarm chirped another hour later, Adora said, "I'm awake, don't worry."  
  
Chelsea grumbled, "I really don't want to move."  
  
That got a small chuckle from Adora. "If you can just hand me the pill bottle, I'm sure I can manage to take two more pills."  
  
"Gimme a sec here. I'm still trying to convince myself to wake up enough to move," Chelsea answered.  
  
Another small chuckle from Adora as Chelsea rolled out of her bed and crawled over to Adora's side. She powered up the digital thermometer again to check Adora's temperature and got a reading of 99.5 F. Adora's temperature had gone up just a couple of notches. "How are you feeling temperature wise? Hot, cold, warm?"  
  
"A little on the too warm side," Adora answered, accepting the pills that Chelsea handed her.  
  
"Want me to ditch the wool blanket?" Chelsea asked after Adora swallowed the Tylenol.  
  
"Fold it over the back of the couch, please. I get warm, but can't seem to stay warm," Adora said.  
  
"How do you feel otherwise? Does your throat hurt or does it feel like you can't draw a full breath?"  
  
"My throat does feel a bit scratchy," Adora admitted.  
  
"I've got some cough drops in my med kit, if you want," Chelsea offered.  
  
"I think I'll be fine once I get more sleep," Adora answered.  
  
"Sleep, what a wonderful word," Chelsea said with a wry smile. "I'll check you again in another hour."  
  
"That soon?" Adora asked with a frown.  
  
"Yeah, standard procedure for a head injury such as yours," Chelsea answered. "Is there anything else you need?"  
  
"No, I'll be fine, I think," Adora answered.  
  
"Just speak up if you do," Chelsea said, moving back to reset the alarm on her cell phone again and stoke up the fire before crawling back into her nest. It didn't look like the storm was going to let up early. She could still hear the winds howling outside and it looked more like dead of night than just past dawn.  
  
This time, it was Adora who had problems falling back asleep as Chelsea crawled back into her blankets. Her head ached from without and within. She wanted desperately to know who she was; why she had been at a castle under attack, and how in the world had she ended up in her present location? She wanted to know, but couldn't think straight. The fire lulled her back to sleep once more.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
On Eternia, Duncan, Man-At-Arms, had just finished his morning exercise routine when Zôhar the Falcon landed on the windowsill in his quarters. He wondered what could have brought the Sorceress out so early in the day when she dropped the news on him.  
  
Adora had been captured and bespelled by Hordak and Shadoweaver before being dumped through a portal to Earth wounded and without memory. Adam and Marlena had been sent to Earth in search of Adora and her sword.  
  
Duncan frowned when the Sorceress made it clear that he would have to pass the news onto Randor now.  
  
:He's not going to like having his whole family off-planet facing what could be a volatile situation, Sorceress:, Duncan thought at the Falcon.  
  
:I know Randor will not be but he will take the news better from you, Duncan. Soften it by saying that He-Man also went with them,: was the answer.  
  
Well, that answered one of Duncan's questions. He knew that Adam had wisely taken the Sword of Power with him. :Why do I feel like we've tread this path before, Sorceress? Is this the same spell Skeletor used on He- Man once?:  
  
:Almost the same, except that Shadoweaver added a new twist to it - Adora was supposed to wander lost in a lost world without magic.:  
  
:Except that Earth is neither a lost world, or without magic,: Duncan pondered. :So, how did Adora end up there?:  
  
:That I do not know for certain yet, but I do have an idea.: was the answer he received. :I must return to the Castle to open the Portal when Adam calls.:  
  
:And I must tell the King what he doesn't want to hear. Thank you for letting me know, Sorceress.: Duncan said, resigned to the fact that his king would be one unhappy man until his family returned.  
  
The falcon turned and launched off into the morning sky and Duncan went to take a quick shower before giving the news to Randor.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Duncan found King Randor emerging from the royal apartments with a worried expression on his face.  
  
"Duncan, have you seen Marlena this morning?" Randor asked.  
  
"That's just what I was coming to talk to you about, Your Majesty," Duncan began. "I had a visit from Zôhar the Falcon this morning, bringing me a message from the Sorceress about that very thing. Perhaps you would like to talk about this in your quarters, Your Majesty."  
  
"What is it, Duncan? Where's Marlena?" Randor demanded.  
  
"Please, Your Majesty, let's use your quarters," Duncan put a hand on Randor's shoulder and turned him back towards the double doors.  
  
Randor allowed him to guide him back into the private sitting room, where he paced while Duncan gave him the news.  
  
"It seems, Your Majesty, that Hordak and Shadoweaver caught Adora in a well laid trap. Shadoweaver cast a spell that wiped out all of Adora's memories of who she was and put a particularly nasty twist on it that she should wander lost in a lost world until the end of her days,"  
  
Randor sat down heavily at that. It was beginning to come together for him now.  
  
"The Sorceress was able to track which planet Adora was sent to and sent Marlena and Adam to find Adora, safely break the spell and then bring her back."  
  
"But, why Marlena and Adam?" Randor asked.  
  
"The planet Adora ended up, ironically enough, was Earth and the Sorceress -" Duncan continued before Randor interrupted him.  
  
"Earth? Why Earth?!" Randor demanded.  
  
"The Sorceress didn't say why or how, but since it was Earth, she obviously felt that your wife's knowledge of her former planet would be invaluable in helping Adam find Adora without attracting the wrong sort of attention."  
  
"But, why Earth?" Randor asked again.  
  
Duncan understood Randor's distress. The King couldn't very well go after his family, for who would run the kingdom?  
  
"Did the Sorceress have any idea on when they would return?" Randor asked, trying to things in perspective.  
  
"No, Your Majesty, I'm sorry, she didn't have a time frame yet. This all happened very suddenly as you can tell," Duncan apologized.  
  
Randor sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over his bearded face, "Please keep me informed on this, Duncan."  
  
"I will, Your Majesty," Duncan answered and got up to leave. He figured the King had enough to think about for a while.  
  
Randor, lost in thought, didn't notice Duncan's quiet departure.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
That afternoon, a rather worried and distracted Randor held court. Although he kept a listening expression on his face, his thoughts were far away with his family.  
  
Duncan, knowing that his monarch's thoughts were not present in the throne room, had to clear his throat several times before Randor's expression cleared. "Perhaps Your Majesty would like to postpone court until this other pressing matter is resolved?" Man-At Arms suggested to the King.  
  
"What was that, Man-At-Arms?" Randor asked, sitting up straighter and giving his attention to Duncan.  
  
"I asked if Your Majesty would like to postpone court until this other 'pressing issue' is resolved?" Duncan repeated his question.  
  
"Yes, Man-At-Arms, I think that that would be best. Are there any pressing matters that need to be discussed and/or resolved before we postpone court?" Randor agreed. He was glad that Duncan had made the suggestion. The issues brought to him by his subjects deserved his full attention and he was much too worried about his family to give them that today.  
  
"Let me check the schedule, Sire," Duncan paused to bring up the list on his datapad. He didn't see anything there but glanced to the Master of Ceremonies who shook his head. "No, Your Majesty, there is nothing that can't wait."  
  
"Good, then make the announcement that today's Court will be rescheduled once this other issue has been satisfactorily resolved," Randor nodded.  
  
"Yes, Your Majesty," Duncan said and the Master of Ceremonies made the formal announcement to the petitioners who were waiting outside the throne room.  
  
The courtiers who had noticed the absence of Queen Marlena; which hadn't been explained, speculated wildly about that and why the King was postponing court.  
  
Randor stepped down from the dais with barely a nod to the courtiers and quit the throne room. He didn't notice the two young guards who snapped to attention as he passed them, already lost in thought once more. Randor decided to take the long way around the palace back to his office. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had explored every nook and cranny of the palace. Maybe, just maybe, that would help take his mind off his worries for a while, he hoped.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Duncan watched him go, and silently prayed for everyone's safe return, for the sake of his king and the well being of the kingdom in general. On leaving the throne room, he noticed that the two sentries were doing their duty and trailing the king at a discrete distance.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Back on Earth, Chelsea continued her vigil of checking on Adora every hour and worried over Adora's rising temperature building congestion. She went upstairs to the loft area on the third floor and hopped on the computer to email her mentor back in Seattle on how to treat Adora's symptoms and do more research on how to keep stable until she could get her to either an ER or her family who could get her back to Eternia and the Sorceress who had much better resources for healing than she did.  
  
Waiting for the email to come back from her mentor, Chelsea picked up the phone and dialed the number for Breckenridge Resort that Marlena had left on the answering machine. Getting the resort switchboard operator, she asked for Marlena's suite.  
  
The phone was answered on the second ring by a worried sounding female voice, "Hello?"  
  
"Hi, Marlena. It's Chelsea. I got your message about the strange twist fate when I got in this morning from doing something incredibly stupid," Chelsea said, leaning back in her chair and popping her back.  
  
In true Eternian style, Marlena exclaimed, "Oh, Chelsea! Thank the Sorceress! I've been so worried! You were out on this storm last night?!"  
  
Chelsea grimaced. She had a feeling that Marlena would guess that she'd gone out in the weather. "Yeah, well, I couldn't really get back to sleep after that wonderful dream I had last night. I had to do something."  
  
"Adora - you found her?" Marlena asked hesitantly.  
  
"Yes, after spending almost two hours out there, I found her," Chelsea answered. "She's downstairs on the couch, resting."  
  
"Adora! You found her." Marlena cried in relief, overcome by her emotions.  
  
Adam took the phone from his speechless mother, "Chelsea, this is Adam. How are you and how is Adora?"  
  
"I feel like I've had a ton of bricks dropped on me and I'm sleep dep'ed, but I'll live. Adora, well, she's not in the greatest shape right now. She's got torn ligaments in her right knee, concussion and she's suffering from exposure." Chelsea answered, not at all surprised that Adam was on Earth. He was not about to let his mother just go off on her own, even if it was her former home world. She had figured that out when she had met Adam's parents after the battle with Skeletor. If he didn't have such a sense of duty and devotion, he wouldn't be He-Man.  
  
"How bad?" Adam asked, trying to get a handle on the situation.  
  
"The concussion is mild, Adora's lucid when I wake her up to check on her and I have the knee stabilized, but she's running a temperature, Adam."  
  
"How high is her temperature?" Adam asked.  
  
"We're looking at 100.2 F, here and that's no longer mild. She needs a fully trained healer, Adam. I can deal with the knee and the concussion, but high fever and pneumonia? Way over my head, Adam," Chelsea answered truthfully.  
  
Adam sighed, "Can you keep her fever down until we can get her back to Eternia?"  
  
"I'm trying. But, it's the congestion build up in her lungs I'm worried about. In fact, I just asked my mentor for help and I'm waiting for him to answer my email on what I can do for her in the meantime," Chelsea said, hitting the send/receive button on her email. There was no message yet. "What's the latest on the when the storm's supposed to break? I haven't looked at the weather reports yet."  
  
"The snow should stop sometime tonight, and the winds are supposed to die down tomorrow," Adam answered. "Chelsea, this is gonna sound odd, but did Adora have a sword with her when you found her? It's important."  
  
"Unfortunately, no, she didn't have her sword when I found her. I think it may be on the slopes somewhere, because if I remember right, she did have it in hand when Shadoweaver's vortex opened up. Chelsea paused a minute to fight the chills that were running down her spine. The spell that Shadoweaver had had the audacity to cast gave her the creeps. She continued a second later, "Her sword is just as important as yours isn't it, Adam?"  
  
"Yes, yes it is," Adam answered slowly, surprise evident in his voice.  
  
"Adam, you forget, I know who you are, and it would only make sense that Adora, not only being your sister, but your twin, I just realized; would also be a person like you," Chelsea stated, a wry smile on her face. "Her sword plays a part in this, doesn't it?"  
  
"Yes, yes, it does. I'm not sure what yet, but it does," Adam answered her question, almost stunned by her quick insight.  
  
"She had to have it when she came out on this end of the vortex, and I don't think Adora got all that far from where the vortex dumped her to where I found her over on Copper Mountain." Chelsea stated, again checking her email, hoping for her mentor to answer. "I would suggest looking there first."  
  
"Right. We'll check it out as soon as we can. Until this storm clears, there's not much any of us can do." Adam answered, pulling his thoughts together. That information fit with what he had calculated last night. "You've already risked too much going out to find Adora last night, Chelsea. This storm is supposed to break in the next two days. Just keep Adora stable until we can safely get to you and then we'll get Adora back to the Sorceress who can help her."  
  
"I had to go out and find her last night, Adam. I couldn't get back to sleep after dreaming about her capture. I could feel her pain and her fear. There was no way I could ignore that. I also know about cold weather survival and took the right precautions before I went out after Adora." Chelsea stated firmly, looking at the clock to see how long she had been upstairs. She had time still before she would need to go downstairs and check on her.  
  
Adam sighed heavily and took a moment to answer. Chelsea could just see him shaking his head as he said, "Chelsea, you're as hard headed as Teela, you know that?"  
  
That got a surprised laugh out of Chelsea, "Why thank you, Adam!"  
  
Adam chuckled, "You're hopeless, Chelsea."  
  
"You know it," She answered and watched the icon spin in the lower right hand corner of the screen and the message that said, "Receiving message 1 of 1." Moments later she saw that the message was from her mentor who wanted to meet her out on IRC in the acupuncture channel. She quickly logged on and after she got in the room, her mentor set the channel to invite only and began asking for details. "I just got an answer from my mentor and we're messaging back and forth right now on what course of action I should take on caring for your sister."  
  
"All right, then I'll let you go. Just keep us updated on her condition, will you?" Adam said in closing.  
  
"I promise, Adam," Chelsea said, getting her thoughts geared towards talking with her mentor. "Is there anything else you or your mother need to know right now?"  
  
Adam questioned his mother, "Anything else for Chelsea now?"  
  
Chelsea could hear Marlena's answer, "No, nothing I can think of right now. Just tell her to stay out of trouble."  
  
Adam chuckled, "That's almost like telling Cringer to grow a backbone."  
  
Chelsea laughed, "Hey, I resemble that remark! I'll talk to you later, Adam."  
  
"Take care, Chelsea," Adam said before hanging up the phone.  
  
Chelsea hit the disconnect button on the cordless phone and turned her attention to providing her tutor with concise details on Adora's physical condition.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
In their suite, Adam relayed to Marlena the seriousness of Adora's condition, "It's not good, but it's not severe. Chelsea knows her limitations there and is getting help from her mentor on how to care for Adora."  
  
Marlena nodded, "You're right, it's not good, but Chelsea is handling it as best she can for now." She rested her chin on her pointed fingers for a moment, her thoughts far away. "You mentioned Adora having a sword to Chelsea. I remember that s he had it in hand when she got caught in that force field. It's important, isn't it, Adam?"  
  
"Yes, yes, it is," Adam answered, stalling for time as he thought about how not to tell her everything. "Adora's sword was a - gift, from the Sorceress -"  
  
Marlena cut him off at the knees, "Adam, don't lie to your mother."  
  
"But-" Adam tried to protest.  
  
"Adam," was all she said.  
  
Adam frowned and sighed heavily.  
  
"Adam, it's just you and me here. You can drop the stumbling fool act and tell me the truth," Marlena insisted. She wondered how her husband could be so blind towards their son. Adam moved with a subtle, powerful grace, and when he appeared clumsy, he never managed to get hurt and came out of it unscathed.  
  
The silence was thunderous as Adam stared blindly out the windows for a long moment. Finally, he turned back to her and said, "I simply can't tell you everything, Mother. Not yet. The full truth is far too dangerous."  
  
"Then, tell me what you can, and please, don't lie to me, Adam," Marlena said, watching Adam pace, prowling like a caged tiger.  
  
"What I said about Adora's sword being a gift from the Sorceress is essentially true." Adam answered slowly. "As you've guessed, her sword is important. It's the key to breaking Shadoweaver's spell."  
  
"But, how?" Marlena asked, her eyes never leaving Adam who paused in his pacing to stare out the windows again  
  
"I don't know," Adam said, turning to face his mother.  
  
Marlena quirked an eyebrow at him and Adam threw his hands up in surrender. "I honestly don't know for certain."  
  
Marlena nodded and accepted it. She came to a decision then and stood up. "Come on, we're getting out of here for a while before you start wearing holes in the carpeting with your pacing."  
  
"Where are we going?" Adam asked.  
  
"Shopping, of course," Marlena said with a smile.  
  
"Shopping?" Adam questioned, completely confused by her abrupt change.  
  
"Yes, shopping. If we're going to be here for more than a couple of days, we're going to need clothes, among other things. We can also sign up for ski rental and lift passes for when the lifts do open," Marlena said, heading off to her bedroom to get her jacket and wallet.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Chelsea finished her chat with her mentor and closed IRC. She spent a few minutes more at the computer printing out what she and her mentor had talked about along with some pictures her mentor had sent her on how to treat Adora. Her mentor had told her not to try and call her healing powers without him being there since her control over them was still so erratic. When she had all the pages, Chelsea headed back downstairs. She would check on Adora first and then set up for the acupuncture in the guest room with the twin beds.  
  
On her return to the living room, she saw Adora was awake and staring at the fire Chelsea had stoked up before heading upstairs.  
  
"Hi, how's the head?" Chelsea asked as she set the papers down on the end table and came around to Adora's side.  
  
"Down to a dull throb now," Adora answered; then had to sneeze.  
  
Grabbing a tissue box, Chelsea handed Adora a couple, "Except when you sneeze or cough?"  
  
Keeping her eyes closed for the moment, Adora answered, "Right." She opened them back up and fixed Chelsea with a piercing stare, "Who am I really? Who are you, Chelsea and how and why do you know me?"  
  
Chelsea set down on the edge of the couch and answered, "Well, who I am is the easy part. How much do you remember from last night?"  
  
Adora admitted, "Not a lot."  
  
"Okay, I'll start with who I am, since that's the easy part," Chelsea admitted with a grin. "Like you know, my name is Chelsea and this is my grandparents' house in Colorado. As to how I know you. well, I'll have to answer that in a round about fashion here. I know your family, but you weren't on Eternia when I, ah, visited and in all the confusion, they never got around to telling me about you-"  
  
"So, how do you know me?" Adora questioned.  
  
"Ah, that's a bit of a strange thing," Chelsea admitted with a half embarrassed smile. "That kind of goes hand in hand with why I'm a healer in training. I am a telepath and empath and last night I had one whopper of a nightmare vision about you."  
  
"About me? Why about me?"  
  
"That I don't know off hand," Chelsea admitted. "But, it was strong enough to send me out into that maelstrom outside to find you and bring you back here. I had to help you, I was compelled to because of my gifts."  
  
"So, who am I?" was Adora's next question.  
  
"You, well, that's a bit more difficult to answer," Chelsea answered, "and, I can either answer that now, or I can help you upstairs where you can soak in the whirlpool tub and then I can do some acupuncture treatment for your knee and your cold, while I explain what I know about you."  
  
Adora looked at the weather outside and thought for a moment about what Chelsea had told her. "Since it doesn't look like we're going to be going anywhere for a while and getting cleaned up does sound good, I'll wait."  
  
"All right," Chelsea said, abandoning her perch on the edge of the couch and moving back to Adora's side. She helped Adora to her feet, supporting her right side.  
  
The trip to the second floor was done in stages and Chelsea helped Adora sit back down on the bed in the master bedroom while she got the bathwater running and lit the incense warmer with eucalyptus oil then made sure that she had eucalyptus oil added to the bath water before she helped Adora into the bathroom.  
  
Unwrapping Adora's knee, Chelsea said, "The eucalyptus will help ease the congestion in your head and chest and the warm water and jets will help your sore muscles."  
  
Adora said nothing at first, but concentrated on inhaling the perfumed air. It did seem to ease the tightness that had begun to build in her chest.  
  
Chelsea got to her feet and left the bathroom. She returned a moment later with a large terry cloth bathrobe. "Don't worry about getting dressed when you get out of the tub. Just put this on and then I'll help you down to the guest room where I'll do the acupuncture on your knee."  
  
"And, finish telling me about who I am?" Adora questioned.  
  
"Of course," Chelsea answered with a grin. "That is a tale to be told and we have the rest of the day to tell it. Just holler when you're ready for me to come back. I've got to get the one guest bedroom set up for you."  
  
"Holler?" Adora asked, her expression confused.  
  
"Sorry, I mean yell or call out," Chelsea explained and then showed Adora how to work the jets on the whirlpool tub and drain. She had placed towels and washcloth within easy reach and said, "Don't try to wash your hair on your own. I'll help you with that when you're ready to get out of the tub."  
  
"All right," Adora agreed, looking forward to soaking in the scented water.  
  
"I'll be down the hall," Chelsea said and then left Adora to soak in the warm, scented water.  
  
Chelsea dug in her bags for her acupuncture needles and herbs before going down the hall to the bedroom she intended to use for Adora and getting it ready. She turned on the wall heaters and pulled out the bolster and triangle chest pillows from the closet and tossed them on the second bed in the room. The humidifier was filled and more eucalyptus scent went in the water before she headed back downstairs to get the instructions from her mentor. She took the time to make herself a fresh mug of tea and heat up the pillows before she headed back upstairs to check on Adora.  
  
"Knock knock," Chelsea said, knocking on the door to the bathroom. "How are you doing, Adora?"  
  
A loud sigh before Adora said, "This feels wonderful."  
  
Chelsea chuckled, "All right. Soak for a few minutes longer. I'll be down the hall finishing up down there." She moved back down the hall with the heated pillows in her arms to put them on the bed.  
  
She arranged the pillows to her liking as the room warmed up and filled with the warm, scented mist from the humidifier. The bolster pillow would support Adora's knees and take pressure off her lower back and the triangle pillow would open up Adora's chest and allow her to take deeper breaths when combined with some gentle stretches. Chelsea's mentor had supported her decision against a full massage while Adora was running a fever and had given her a full course of treatment until she could get Adora to a hospital for her knee. She made a second trip downstairs to prepare a mug of tea for Adora and to refresh her own. She promised herself she could have a soda after she finished doing the first treatment on Adora. With mugs in hand and her instructions from her mentor tucked under her arm, she headed back upstairs.  
  
"Knock, knock," she called out again as she knocked on the door for the master bathroom. "Are you ready to get out yet, Adora?"  
  
The whirlpool jets shut off and Chelsea could hear the drain opening, "Just give me a moment to get dried off, Chelsea."  
  
"I'll be right back then to wash your hair," she said, moving back to the other bedroom and setting down the mugs and printouts.  
  
When she returned, Adora was sitting on the edge of the tub wrapped in the robe Chelsea had put out for her.  
  
Chelsea moved efficiently to move things around in order to do Adora's hair. With extreme gentleness, she washed and conditioned Adora's hair before putting a styling gel in it then combing out the last snarls with the hair pick.  
  
Sitting with her eyes closed, Adora commented, "What other talents do you have, Chelsea? Healer in training, telepath and empath and hair stylist?"  
  
"Hair dresser? No," Chelsea laughed. "Don't trust me with scissors near hair. This is simple maintenance that was drilled into me by my sister Connie, the true beautician of my family."  
  
Adora smiled. Chelsea had this way making her feel better just by laughing.  
  
Moments later, Chelsea was done and had the wound on Adora's forehead cleaned and a fresh bandage in place. The cut wasn't nearly as bad looking as the bruising that covered the goose egg under it. "The cut doesn't look too bad, but the bruising is quite colorful and that will take about a week to fade."  
  
She helped Adora back to her feet and supported her right side for the trip down to the bedroom at the opposite end of the hallway. Adora settled down on the comfortable bed with a sigh. Every time she placed the slightest bit of weight on the right knee it felt like it was grinding and had shooting pains going up and down her leg.  
  
"Feels good to be off that knee, right?" Chelsea asked knowingly. All the impressions she was getting from Adora told her how much the knee was hurting. She positioned Adora with her head at the foot of the bed and adjusted the large heart shaped pillow so it was under Adora's upper back, placed the neck pillow to support Adora's neck and put the bolster pillow under her knees before she put the booties back on Adora's feet.  
  
Chelsea hit play on the boom box and swirling Celtic music flowed out of the speakers. She set to work with her acupuncture needles, following the directions her mentor had given her, letting the music fill and surround her as she placed the needles. When all the needles were placed for the first treatment, she sat back up straight and arched her back to work out the kinks.  
  
"Just rest for a bit and let the needles do their work," Chelsea said softly, putting a hand on Adora's shoulder.  
  
Adora made an assenting noise, keeping her eyes closed as she breathed in the scented air and listened to the swirling music. "Are you going to tell me the rest of the story now?"  
  
"Oh yes," Chelsea answered. "Do you remember much of what I told you lat night?"  
  
"You did say something about a battle at a castle?" Adora murmured, relaxing further into the warmth of the pillows around her neck, at her back and her feet.  
  
"Yes, I did," Chelsea answered, sipping her tea. "The dream started last night with you slipping out of a Castle that was under attack. I got the impression that you were leading the castle's defenses and wanted to see the enemy's numbers and positions from outside the castle walls."  
  
"Why was that?" was the quiet question.  
  
"Because you used to work for the enemy," was the answer.  
  
Adora's eyes opened wide and she shifted to look at Chelsea, "What?"  
  
"Don't worry, I don't think it was by choice," Chelsea said, "Now, relax back into the pillows and I'll go on with the tale."  
  
Adora did as Chelsea ordered. The pillows were warm and soothing and she was a pincushion at the moment.  
  
"You snuck out of the castle to see what the enemy - they call themselves The Horde, by the way- was up to. You got a good idea of what they were up to and how they were going to use their forces and their mutant mercenaries."  
  
"Mutant mercenaries?" Adora questioned disbelievingly.  
  
"Yeah, mutant mercenaries. These folks are pretty freaky looking from the little I saw in the dream. Anyway, you moved off into the woods, away from the battle to do something, and before you could do it, you were jumped from behind by one of your former 'co-workers' - the most pleasant person you could ever hope to stab you in the back."  
  
"I vaguely remember you telling me about this." Adora commented.  
  
"Yes, Catra was her name, and she's a real winner, let me tell you, she fights dirty," Chelsea continued after taking another sip of her tea. The CD player changed to another CD of Celtic music, this one with more of a slower rhythm with more of a haunting melody of pipes and harps. "You finally managed to get the upper hand with her and knock her out. Bruised and tired, you got away and went further into the woods. You slipped on a mud patch, since it was pouring raining and went down the wrong way. That's where you tore up your knee. Catra fights dirty as I said, and there was another of the mutant mercenaries waiting for you in case you got past her- this green, scaly looking fellow with suction cup hands-"  
  
"You weren't kidding about the mutant part, were you?" Adora said quietly.  
  
"No, oh no," Chelsea replied. "This guy was waiting for you and when you went down, he made his move. I don't know how he does it, but if he gets his hands on you, he'll leech out your energy."  
  
"How.unpleasant."  
  
"Very. Anyway, he got a hold of you and drained you almost to unconsciousness before you were able to get away from him. Weak and wounded, you headed deeper into the woods to do something that would help the good guys."  
  
"But what was that?"  
  
Chelsea sighed heavily, "I don't know exactly." Here she had to be careful, since she didn't want to give too much information away at one time. "It has something to do with the Sword you were carrying."  
  
"I was carrying a sword? Adora asked.  
  
"Yes," Chelsea answered and paused, again considering how much she should tell Adora. "You didn't get far after that when you hit the last part of the trap laid for you by your former employers. They trapped you in a force field and 'offered' you one last chance to rejoin the Horde. Hordak, the ghoul in charge, called you Force Captain Adora. You threw that title back in his face, I remember." Chelsea said with a small smile. "You really didn't like him calling you that. Your come back was, 'It's Rebel Leader Adora, or even Princess Adora, now Hordak, as you well know. I don't like being reminded of my past association with the Horde.'"  
  
"Very forceful," was Adora's comment.  
  
"You are a very forceful person, Adora. It kind of runs in the family," Chelsea answered, taking another sip from her tea. "Anyway, since you so definitively turned down Hordak's offer to rejoin the Horde, he turned you over his 'pet witch,' Shadoweaver. She's another one of the Horde's mutants."  
  
"Oh, lovely."  
  
"Indeed. Anyway, she started her casting and your boyfriend, Seahawk, made an ill-fated attempt to rescue you. Hordak knocked him unconscious and Shadoweaver was able to finish casting her wonderful little spell; which wiped out your memory and dumped you in a vortex that dumped you here on the planet Earth."  
  
Adora was so quiet for some moments as she took in what Chelsea had told her, that Chelsea was almost afraid she had said too much. In the quiet, Chelsea finished her tea, carefully watching Adora.  
  
"I don't know why, but I do believe you," Adora answered finally.  
  
Chelsea sighed in relief, she could sense Adora still processing the story, but her belief was genuine. She checked her watch; they still had about ten minutes before she needed to pull the needles out and have Adora shift her position to her stomach.  
  
"Now, you said I told Hordak -? - to call me either Rebel Leader Adora or Princess Adora?" Adora questioned, slowly. "Those titles what do they mean?"  
  
"Yes, Hordak was his name. Well, I'll start with your second title of Princess, since I know more about that, then I do about your being Rebel Leader Adora. As Princess Adora, you are daughter to King Randor and Queen Marlena from a world called Eternia and you have a twin brother named Adam."  
  
"What about when I said Rebel Leader? Was I a Rebel Leader on Eternia? What does that mean and why would I even consider working for someone as vile sounding as this Hordak person?" Adora asked, taking a deep breath of the scented air.  
  
"I don't know most of what you're asking," Chelsea admitted. "You weren't on Eternia fighting the Horde, that much I do know. From what I've learned of your family, I seriously don't think you would have been serving the Horde willingly, so Hordak must have had some hold over you or, done something to you to make you serve him." Chelsea paused again, wondering how much she could tell her. There wasn't much more that she knew about Adora. "I wish I knew more, but Adam didn't get a chance to tell me about you when I visited Eternia. Everything was so chaotic dealing with the crisis that had erupted there."  
  
Adora tried to ask Chelsea a question, but ended up having a coughing jag. Chelsea helped her sit up to catch her breath and brought over Adora's tea mug.  
  
"Here, mint tea laced with honey. Again, the mint will help to open up your chest and the honey should help with the congestion," She put the mug in Adora's hands and checked her watch. It was time to pull the needles out and do some stretches before she did the second round of needles, this time with Adora on her stomach.  
  
Adora drank the tea, not realizing how thirsty she was until Chelsea gave it to her. It soothed her throat after the coughing jag.  
  
"Now your head is pounding again, I bet?" Chelsea asked with a wry grin.  
  
"Yes," Adora answered, looking at her, her unspoken question written on her face.  
  
"Remember, I'm an empath, I can feel what you're feeling, so it's to my advantage to see that you're not in pain," Chelsea said, gathering a small bowl with alcohol to put the needles in. After Adora drained the tea mug, Chelsea set it to the side and began removing the needles from Adora's damaged knee.  
  
"Tell me what you know about my family?" Adora questioned, watching Chelsea work.  
  
"Well, I only briefly met with King Randor and he's a good person and good king to his people. He loves his family very much and I can just imagine that he's not a happy camper being stuck on Eternia and not being able to help you. Queen Marlena is a very smart lady, not much gets by her. Ironically enough, she was an astronaut from Earth, when she hit a wormhole and crash landed on Eternia. Your father rescued her from her damaged ship and it was love at first sight." Chelsea laughed lightly at the memory of Marlena telling her the story. "She's a wonderful balance to all of Randor's sternness.  
  
"Adam, well, your brother is a hard person to pin down and there's a hell of a lot more to him than meets the eye. He has a strong sense of duty and is quite good looking, but is very much taken, even if he won't quite admit it to himself yet."  
  
Adora made a small noise, quirked an eyebrow and asked, "Oh, really?"  
  
"Oh really," Chelsea answered, grinning as she finished removing the needles from Adora's knee. "Her name's Teela, she's a Capitan of the royal guard and she's got much more of the fiery red-head temperament than me. She's got plans for your brother all right."  
  
"Do I know her?" Adora asked.  
  
"I would think so, but until last night, I didn't know Adam had a twin sister," Chelsea said putting the bowl with the needles to the side and standing up.  
  
"Twin?" Adora echoed, surprised.  
  
"Yep, your brother is your twin," Chelsea answered, moving to do the facial massage she had promised Adora to ease her pounding headache. She did a quick calculation in her head- it wasn't quite time for Adora to take another dose of the Tylenol. She removed the pillow from under Adora's head, leaving the neck pillow in place and used gentle strokes on Adora's face and scalp to sooth her headache. That much she could do and not worry about increasing Adora's fever with her work.  
  
Adora sighed and closed her eyes, relaxing deeper in to the bed as Chelsea's hands worked on easing her headache. "You certainly seem to have found your calling as a healer."  
  
"Thank you," Chelsea said with a small burst of pride. "I still have a lot to learn, but I have a good mentor who's making sure I learn everything I can in order to best practice my craft."  
  
Adora was quiet as Chelsea finished working on the pressure points on her face, releasing more of the tension from her body.  
  
"Is there anything in particular still hurting?" Chelsea asked, standing up and grabbing the triangular pillow for Adora to do the breathing exercise next.  
  
"Nothing in particular. I still feel achy and sore all over, but my knee isn't throbbing. In fact, that's the one thing that isn't hurting," Adora answered, a little surprised.  
  
"Good," Chelsea nodded and explained to Adora what she wanted her to do next using the pillow that arched her back and elevated her chest, talking her through the breathing exercises used in conjunction with the pillow. She had to help Adora sit up again as the exercise triggered a coughing jag, followed by a sneezing fit that had Adora using several tissues before it was done.  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
While Chelsea continued on with the regimen her mentor had outlined for her, taking it in easy and slow steps while Marlena enjoyed dragging Adam along with her through the various shops in the resort complex.  
  
At the one store that sold jeans way above normal retail price, Marlena had a hard time hiding her smile as the lone sales clerk all but tripped over her feet in order to help find the right size for Adam.  
  
Adam looked at her sideways and asked, "What?"  
  
"Nothing," Marlena answered, her eyes bright with her amusement.  
  
Adam gave her a sideways glance and turned back to give the young woman his polite attention as she pulled out several pairs of jeans and then led him over to a dressing room. It took a few tries, but when he finally did find a pair that fit reasonably well, he emerged from the dressing room.  
  
"Turn around and let me see how they fit," Marlena ordered with a wave of her hand, more to see the reaction of the sales clerk, than to check the fit.  
  
"Mother." Adam protested.  
  
"Yes, I'm your mother and I want to make sure the jeans fit before we buy them," she said, just full of logic.  
  
With a disgusted sigh, Adam turned around and faced away from her. Marlena managed not to laugh as she watched the sales clerk's reaction.  
  
"They're not too tight, are they?" Marlena questioned, noticing how the young girl could barely keep from staring at his butt; which was very clearly defined by the snug denim.  
  
Adam twisted experimentally as he turned back around to face her, "No, they seem to fit all right."  
  
"Good, good," Marlena nodded. "We'll take three pairs in that size." She moved through the store to the ladies' section and pulling out a few pairs that were in her size range. She knew better than to go for her pre- marriage size, it had been far too long and carrying twins had made changes that made fitting into a pair of size 10s not even a remote possibility. It took her a few tries until she found the right style and size, going for a looser fit.  
  
They left that store with bags in hand a few moments later, heading towards the resort's hair salon and picked up a few more items and left to hit yet another store where Marlena picked up shirts and sweatshirts, again enjoying the female sales clerk fairly tripping over herself in her efforts to help Adam.  
  
Adam looked to her and said, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"  
  
"It's something I don't get to do back home," Marlena answered.  
  
"What? Shopping?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Yes, and watching you interact with all these young women. What am I going to tell Teela when we get home?"  
  
Adam blushed and couldn't find the words to respond to that. Instead, he paid great attention to looking through a rack of clothing.  
  
Marlena laughed silently and picked out a few shirts for both her and Adam and paid for them while he followed her without saying a word. She checked off what they had gotten so far on her mental list of items and continued on to the next store.  
  
After a stop at a few more stores in the village, they headed to the ski pro shop in the hotel itself to arrange for rental of equipment once the slopes were opened.  
  
The ski pro, Carl, as his name badge read, gave Adam a critical once over before asking, "You know how to handle yours elf on a pair of skis?"  
  
"I'm decent at it," Adam admitted with a casual shrug. "Not expert, but decent."  
  
"How much do you weigh?" was his next question.  
  
Adam shrugged again, "I don't know."  
  
"Step on the scale over here, son and let me weigh you," Carl said, his weathered face- not revealing what he was thinking.  
  
Adam looked to Marlena who nodded for him to go ahead. He stepped up on the scale and watched as the ski pro played with the weights until the slide bar balanced at 198 pounds.  
  
Carl nodded and pulled up the measuring bar to get Adam's height next and then commented, "198 pounds and six foot four. What's your shoe size?"  
  
Marlena spoke up and said, "Size twelve?"  
  
The older man nodded and said, "Let me get a pair of boots, I'll be right back."  
  
He headed into the racks of ski boots and returned a moment later with three pairs of boots in his arms. "We'll try size twelve and work down or up from there."  
  
Marlena nodded and said, "We're going to be doing some heavy skiing the next few days once the slopes open, so a good fitting boot is important."  
  
Adam sat down and buckled on the stiff ski boots. He stood up and took a few steps around the room, "They feel a little loose in the foot."  
  
"How's the fit in the ankle?" Carl asked, watching Adam's feet as he walked.  
  
"It's good," Adam answered.  
  
"Put on an extra pair of thick socks and that will take care of the looseness in the fit," the ski pro said, looking at Marlena.  
  
"We took care of that already," she answered, pointing to the shopping bags at her feet.  
  
Carl nodded approvingly, moving to take down a pair of skis from the wall and lay them out on the floor. He motioned for Adam to come over to adjust the bindings. He pulled a small Phillips screwdriver out of his back pocket and knelt down to screw the boot clamps into the right position. That accomplished, he got back up and grabbed a pair of ski poles he handed to Adam. The poles were the right height and he motioned for Adam to pop his boots out of the clamps. "I'll tighten these up in the shop. Now, how about you? How good of a skier are you?" His attention focused on Marlena.  
  
"It's been some time, but I grew up near Telluride and almost lived on skis when I was younger," Marlena answered, a small smile playing about her mouth as she saw Adam's surprised expression.  
  
That got a genuine smile out of the older man. "So, why'd you move away?"  
  
"The stars," Marlena answered simply. "I wanted to be out among the stars."  
  
"Well, now, did you make it?" he asked, motioning her up on to the scale.  
  
"Oh yes, I made it. I made it further than I ever dreamed possible," she said with a distant look.  
  
With quick and efficient movements, he balanced the slide bar to get Marlena's weight and height and said, "You wear about a size eight?"  
  
Marlena nodded and before she knew it, he was back with a pair of boots and while she was buckling them on, Carl put down a pair of skis almost the length of what he gave Adam. "I think you'll be able to handle these, seeing as how you were a mountain girl."  
  
Marlena clomped over and snapped her heels down on the clamps, testing the poles he handed her as Carl worked to adjust the toe clamps.  
  
Carl stood up and watched Marlena lean her weight from one side to the other. "Like I told your son, I'll take these in the shop and tighten them up for you."  
  
"Right," Marlena stated, using her poles to pop the latches on the heel clamps and step out of the skis. "If the snow stops tonight, like they're saying, how long before they get the slopes open?"  
  
"With a storm like this, they'll be blasting at first light, and have the grooming crews out as soon as the blasting's done. Probably by ten am, if the weather is clear. Every minute those ski lifts aren't running, means the resorts are loosing money," Carl answered. "Where are you planning on starting at?"  
  
"Copper Mountain and then we're working our way back here," Marlena said, standing back up after getting out of her boots and putting her street boots back on.  
  
"Good, good. Just watch the trails markers. Their green slopes are actually much harder than some of their blue slopes."  
  
"Right, I'll keep that in mind," Marlena said, filling in the rental information and then paying for the deposit on the ski rental.  
  
Carl promised to call them when he got word about the lifts reopening.  
  
Marlena and Adam shook hands with him before gathering up all their packages and heading back to their suite.  
  
Putting everything away in the dresser and closet, before sitting down on the couch to try and read a book she had picked up during their shopping expedition, Marlena watched Adam prowl through the suite like a caged tiger. She gave up trying to read and said, "Adam, go put your sweats and tennis shoes on, then grab your swim trunks. We're going to go workout and then soak in the whirlpool."  
  
Adam stared at her for a moment like she'd suddenly grown a second head.  
  
"Listen to your mother, Adam, and do as I say," Marlena said, getting up from the couch in a smooth motion. She headed off to her bedroom to do what she had told him.  
  
When she returned to the living room moments later, he was standing by the couch, changed and wearing a slightly bemused expression.  
  
"I don't know why I'm doing this," he said.  
  
"Because you're going to drive us both crazy if you don't do something with all this nervous energy you've got," was the answer as she led him from the suite.  
  
The workout center was full of other stir-crazy guests of the resort and Marlena was lucky to find one of the trainers free and quickly grabbed her to work with Adam while she headed for an open treadmill with her book and started warming up. While the trainer worked Adam with the universal machine, she did leg presses and curls before doing a series of arm curls and lifts with the free weights. Leaving Adam in the trainer's hands, she headed to the locker room to change and do laps in the Olympic sized pool. It wasn't until nearly an hour and a half later that as she was soaking in the whirlpool; that a weary Adam climbed in on a sigh and sat next to her.  
  
"I feel like I've just gotten done fighting with all of Skeletor's mercenaries," Adam said, sinking into the hot water.  
  
Marlena smiled and said nothing, leaning her head back against the small towel she had rolled up on the edge of the whirlpool. At least now he wouldn't be pacing the suite when they did go back upstairs.  
  
It was several moments later before he said, "All right, I admit it, you were right."  
  
Marlena cocked an eyebrow and said, "What was that, Adam? I don't think I heard you."  
  
"You were right. If you hadn't made me come down here, I would have driven both of us crazy with my pacing."  
  
"Nice to hear you say that," she murmured, closing her eyes and letting the heat ease some of her own tension. "We have to wait until the roads are clear before we can meet up with Chelsea and Adora. Your sister is in good hands and if Chelsea feels it is too much for her skills, she will call and arrange to get Adora to a hospital. Have trust in that, if nothing else, Adam."  
  
"I do trust Chelsea, but I'm just worried about what else we have to do here," Adam admitted.  
  
"Again, we have to wait and be patient, Adam," Marlena counseled. "We are at the mercy of the weather here."  
  
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."  
  
Marlena smiled again, hearing so much of her husband in him. She felt a pang of worry about him and how she had left without so much as a note before taking off the previous night. He had to be going out of her mind with worry and frustration by this point in time. She hoped the Sorceress had gotten a message to him somehow. She sighed deeply and rolled her head against the supporting towel, feeling her neck creak. It was time for her to move out of the tub for a few minutes and cool down again. "Don't stay in here for too long, Adam."  
  
"I won't," he promised her, clearly uncomfortable by the sight of his mother attracting some appreciative male glances as she got out of the whirlpool and with an elegant stride, headed back to the swimming pool.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Later that evening, Marlena had dragged Adam out of the suite once more. This time, to dinner at one of the resorts nicer restaurants where she did the ordering for both of them, choosing foods that were completely foreign to Adam. She kept the conversation away from Adora for the most part, having checked in with Chelsea shortly before leaving for dinner and learned that Adora had slept most of the day and was still running a low fever, but was lucid.  
  
Adam asked Marlena about her memories of the area and she spent the evening telling him where she had visited around the area.  
  
After dinner, Marlena settled down in the living room to catch one of the pay-per-view movies and a book that she had picked up on their whirlwind shopping tour.  
  
Adam headed back down to the pool to swim more laps and soak once more in the hot tub, his mind crowded with worries about Adora and what they still had to do the next day. How was he going to get Adora to make the change to She-Ra with Marlena right there? Their mother simply couldn't learn that secret. He would have to see about somehow distracting her, or keeping her otherwise occupied when it came time to do that. He grinned as he paused for air at the end of the pool, Chelsea should be more than wiling to help out in that department. Feeling a bit lighter of heart, having figured that out, Adam charged forward once more, his powerful strokes easily carrying him through the water. He finished the lap and pulled himself out of the pool to soak in the almost empty hot tub. When he returned to the suite later on, he was worn out, having finally managed to burn off enough of the nervous energy that had not let him get much rest the night before nor let him sit still for any length of time during the day.  
  
Marlena was curled up on the couch, the TV now off and a radio playing classical music as she read her book. She looked up at Adam as he entered the suite and asked, "Feel better now?"  
  
"Yes, I do," Adam admitted. "I'm going to take a shower and get some sleep. I think tomorrow's going to be a long day."  
  
"I think you're right on that," Marlena agreed. She watched him stretch and yawn, noticing that he finally had managed to tire himself out.  
  
"That shower and the bed are calling my name." Adam said stretching once again, feeling the burn of his work out settle in his muscles. He moved over to the couch to give his mother a quick kiss on the cheek before heading for the shower.  
  
Marlena watched his departure, a thoughtful expression on her face before she turned back to her book. That night, she was the one who stayed up late, spending more time looking out the window at the swirling snow than reading her book. 


	6. Chapter 5 Watch Lights Fade From Every ...

***If you really want to read the silly disclaimer, go back to the Prologue - I am not going to post it all over again! :-p***  
  
Chapter V * * * *  
  
The following day dawned, bringing an end to the snow, but the winds still gusted, blowing the fresh snow everywhere, continuing the white out situation that had Chelsea grumbling in disgust as she brought a breakfast tray up to Adora.  
  
Adora noticed Chelsea's sour expression as she entered the room, "What is it? What's wrong?"  
  
"Just the weather is all. It's stopped snowing, but the winds haven't died down yet, so that puts a delay in getting you back to your family," Chelsea answered. She had talked with Adora the previous evening when they had been sitting on the couch watching a movie, about Adam and Marlena being on Earth, having come to find her and bring her home safely. "Enough of my complaining about the weather - How are you feeling this morning?"  
  
"I feel like I've got this heavy weight sitting on my chest," Adora admitted, putting a hand to her chest to emphasize the feeling.  
  
Chelsea sighed and put the tray down on the second bed in the room, "I was afraid of that." She helped Adora sit up and propped pillows behind her back and under her right knee. A quick brush of her hand against Adora's temple told her that Adora was still running a fever. It was a good thing she had plenty of Tylenol, cough medicine and decongestant and vitamin C in her bag. Placing the tray over Adora's lap, Chelsea said, "Scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, orange juice and hot apple-cinnamon tea with honey. I'll be back in a moment with a whole bunch of pills for you to swallow."  
  
Adora made a face and sipped at her orange juice.  
  
Chelsea got her medicine bag out of her bag and took it, along with the bottle of Tylenol back to the guest bedroom, earning a dubious glance from Adora. "Don't worry, not all of this is for you, but I just wanted to keep everything together."  
  
"What's the plan for today?" she asked between bites of the scrambled eggs.  
  
"After I check in with your family and if the weather cooperates, I get you back to your family, they get you back to Eternia to a healer - probably the Sorceress of Grayskull, since she would have the ability to undo Shadoweaver's spell, and I get the place cleaned up for my friends who are supposed to arrive on Friday for a week of skiing," Chelsea answered. "If the weather doesn't cooperate, then we try this tomorrow."  
  
"It's as simple as that?" Adora questioned with a furrowed brow.  
  
"For me. My part will be done once I get you back to your family," Chelsea said. "For you, well, I'd imagine that you'd just might want to have a word or two with Hordak when you're fully back on your feet with your memory restored."  
  
Adora shared Chelsea's grim expression, "You could say that."  
  
"I thought you might feel that way," Chelsea said, her infectious grin back in place. "I almost wish I could see Hordak's face when you do have your chat with him."  
  
Adora just turned her head back to her food for the moment while Chelsea sorted out the bottles she wanted, pulling out the vitamins and cough medicine first, then pulling the decongestant out. "I didn't want to go this route, but I was somewhat expecting it. Pneumonia is not something to kid around with."  
  
Adora accepted the pills as Chelsea handed them to her; suddenly glad for the large glass of juice Chelsea had placed on her breakfast tray.  
  
Chelsea moved across the room and checked the humidifier. It was low on water. Taking the pitcher from beside it, she headed to the bathroom to refill it and add more of the Eucalyptus oil in order to help Adora breathe. She would give the Tylenol some time to kick in and bring Adora's temperature down before she tried some massage work to loosen the congestion in Adora's lungs. In the meantime, the Eucalyptus steam would help, she hoped.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Adam awoke to the sun trying to shine through a gap in the drapes of his room. He stretched as he slowly came awake, getting his thoughts in order before moving from the comfortable bed. The bed was almost as comfortable as his bed at home and the only thing missing was Cringer laying on the floor next to the bed snoring. Today, he thought, he and his mother would head out to the slopes to find Adora's sword, then they would meet up with Chelsea and Adora either that evening or the following morning. At least, that was the way he hoped the day would go, but that didn't mean things would go that simply. One thing he had learned that things rarely went as planned. He stretched again and pushed the covers back, getting out of bed. The sooner they got out to the slopes, the sooner they could get home. He opened the curtains to see that while the sun was out, they were still under white out conditions. The wind hadn't died down yet. All the fresh snow was still being blown around by the wind. No way would they be able to get out on the slopes until the wind let up.  
  
With a frustrated sigh, Adam moved away from the window and went out to go see if his mother was awake yet. Upon entering the living room, he found his mother staring out the windows at the near white out conditions with an expression of frustration and disgust that he was sure equaled his own feelings.  
  
"I should have known the weather reports would be wrong. They never could get the weather right when it really counted," Marlena said not turning around to face Adam.  
  
"What do the weather reports say now?" Adam asked, moving to stand beside his mother.  
  
"Now they're saying that the winds should die down this afternoon," Marlena sighed. "But, even if that does happen, it won't be until tomorrow, at the earliest that we can get to Adora. It's going to take that long to get the roads cleared. Another day spent waiting."  
  
Adam's heart sank. He should have been expecting it, but hearing the words from his mother just made the reality sink in. He had a feeling that time was working against them here and this seemed to prove it.  
  
Marlena shook her head and straightened her back as she turned away from the window. "Moping around is not going to make things go better. I'm going to get dressed and then we'll go down for breakfast."  
  
"Sure," Adam said, finding himself faced again with his mother's iron will. He turned and went back to his room to throw on his jeans and sweater. Moments later, he returned to put on his shoes and socks while he waited for his mother to return. He didn't have long to wait and she was dressed similarly, except that her sweater was an emerald green that matched her eyes.  
  
With a small smile on his face, he offered her his arm and together, they left the suite.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Chelsea headed back up the stairs with her arms full of the heated pillows. She would do more of the breathing exercises with Adora today to try and keep her lungs open. Of course the phone would ring as she was walking up the steps with her arms full. She figured it would either be John checking up on her, or it would be Adam and Marlena agreeing with her assessment that they wouldn't be able to get to them today to retrieve Adora. "Well, the answering machine can just get it. I've got my arms full." She muttered, continuing up the steps.  
  
Adora was propped up against the pillows, holding a tissue to her nose as Chelsea entered the room. She was caught in the middle of another sneezing fit that left her with watering eyes and resting her head against the headboard behind her. Her expression so drained and full of pain that Chelsea couldn't help but wince.  
  
"When you have to sneeze, it just makes your head hurt all the worse. I know, I've been there before," she said softly as she entered the room.  
  
Adora didn't reply, but blindly reached for the tissue box; which had been placed on the nightstand beside her.  
  
Chelsea with quick and efficient movements; set up the second twin bed to use for Adora's massage. She then helped Adora cross the four steps to the other bed and positioned the bolster pillow under her knees, the heart shaped pillow under her upper back, the u-shaped pillow under her neck and finishing with the booties on her feet. "Let me see if I can relieve some of the sinus pressure here for you and ease that monster headache you're feeling."  
  
"Is it that obvious?" Adora asked, sinking gratefully into the warmth of the pillows at her back and neck. She still felt like she couldn't maintain her body temperature - she went from cold to hot back to cold. Right now, she was cold and the heated pillows were wonderful.  
  
"To someone who's been there - painfully so," Chelsea answered, with a small smile. She moved over and hit the play button for the CD player on the boom box once more and said a silent chant to put herself in the healing mindset. She closed her eyes and stretched her arms above her head for a moment as the swirling Celtic music flowed out of the speakers. She opened her eyes as she lowered her arms and moved the foot of the bed to work on lessening Adora's headache.  
  
"Tell me, how do you know about what I'm feeling, Chelsea?" Adora asked quietly, against the throbbing of her head.  
  
"Simple enough," Chelsea answered, getting down on her knees. "I foolishly enough went crashing through the rafters of the garage to land face first on the concrete floor some 15 feet below."  
  
Adora winced. "That had to hurt."  
  
'Ironically enough, not right away, but yes, it did. I ended up with a hairline fracture in my jaw and a minor depressed skull fracture. I was in the hospital for five days and not very lucid for most of that time," Chelsea said, as she began working on Adora's temples. "The good part was that it opened up most of my talents."  
  
Chelsea paused as she found a knot that required some extra attention to be smoothed out. "The downside," she continued a moment later after she had coaxed it out, "Was that I had no idea how to handle my new talents."  
  
"That must have been hard,' Adora murmured, relaxing further into the warm pillows.  
  
"It was," Chelsea admitted with a nod. "But, my grandmother, goddess bless her, understood and arranged for me to come out here, where she put me in touch with someone who could help me control my talents. She may not be psychic herself, but being a massage therapist tends to put you in contact with a wide range of people and she knew the right person to mentor me."  
  
Adora said, "A mentor is always a good thing to have."  
  
"Yes, and when my healing gift really just kind of exploded on me, she again helped me out with her incredible list of contacts by knowing just the person to help me."  
  
"What do you mean?" Adora asked.  
  
Just as Chelsea was about to answer, Adora erupted into a sneezing fit. She helped her sit up and with one arm braced around Adora's back, grabbed the tissue box from the nightstand and placed it in Adora's lap for her to be able to blow her nose and wipe her eyes. When it was over, several more tissues were in the trashcan and Adora was left a pasty gray color as she tried to catch her breath. Chelsea helped Adora lay back down before she quickly grabbed her eucalyptus essential oil and placed a few drops in the hollow at the base of Adora's throat. She then walked her through some breathing exercises; which helped her catch her breath. After the immediate crisis was solved, Chelsea went back to answer Adora's question.  
  
"You asked what did I mean about my healing talents?" Chelsea said as she worked on giving Adora's scalp a gentle massage, conscious of the concussion and her movements seeking to soothe the killer headache. "Well, empathy and healing tend to go hand in hand and I always had had a minor healing talent - hence why I was always into herbs and massage therapy. I was my grandmother's child, I guess you could say," she laughed softly at that. "None of her children had any interest in doing massage work or being an herbalist like she is and here I am, barely growing up around her and I turn out to be just like her.  
  
"Anyway, my healing talent was there, but not the erratic force it is now. That changed when I met the Sorceress of Grayskull-"  
  
"Who's that? Why do I get the feeling from how you say her name, she's important?" Adora asked, relaxing once more into the pillows at neck and back.  
  
"She is, but who she is - that's another whole story," Chelsea answered, getting up off her knees. She reached over to the dresser to grab the triangular block pillow to begin working on the breathing and stretching exercises. 'You see, it all started again with a very powerful nightmare I had."  
  
Chelsea went on to explain the story of how she had met Kevin McCormick and Julie Winston and been caught up in Skeletor's mad quest for revenge upon his return from the 'grave' so to speak.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Adam and Marlena lingered over breakfast, more picking at their food than eating. Marlena decided to put some thoughts she had been toying with into words, "Adam, tell me this, why is Adora's sword so important?"  
  
Adam winced. He had been dreading this question and didn't want to answer it. He couldn't answer it. He had dodged around it the day before when she had asked about it, but the truth was far too dangerous. "I can't answer that, Mother.'  
  
"Can't or won't, Adam?" she countered with a finely arched eyebrow.  
  
A long, silent moment passed before he answered on a sigh, "Both, Mother, both. I can't answer because I don't know exactly how her sword will break Shadoweaver's spell. But, I also won't answer your question. To tell you, would place you in more danger from Skeletor and Hordak than you ever are as Queen Marlena of Eternia."  
  
"Adam, we've covered this ground already," she countered.  
  
He shook his head, "I wish I could, Mother. I really wish I could, but I simply cannot tell you. The danger is just too great."  
  
"I think I have a pretty good idea what it is, Adam," Marlena countered. "Do you remember when Skeletor took you, your father, Man-At-Arms and Teela prisoner?"  
  
"It's not an event I'm likely to forget," Adam answered, puzzled by where she was leading the conversation.  
  
"Who was the person I freed from the wall Skeletor had you all chained to?"  
  
"It was me. Where are you going with this, Mother?" Adam asked.  
  
"And, what did I say to you after everyone was safely back home?" she ignored his question to ask one more of hers.  
  
"I remember I asked you why had freed me instead of Man-At-Arms or Teela." Adam said slowly, still clueless on where she was leading the conversation.  
  
"What was my answer, Adam?" Marlena questioned, her expression unreadable.  
  
"Mother's intuition." Adam answered, truly lost now. And his face showed his confusion.  
  
"Teela and your father may not be able to see past that carefree, bumbling façade you so carefully project, but I do. I know that there is so much more to you than you let almost anyone see. I know, but then I have an advantage, I'm your mother."  
  
Adam looked at her with a neutral expression.  
  
"I see the strength in your stride, the intelligence and compassion in your eyes - the same things I see when I look at He-man."  
  
Adam sat back in stunned silence, unable to respond to his mother, his mind spinning in a million different directions.  
  
"I've also had a long time to think about all this. Now, answer me this, Adam, if you can. Am I right in guessing that Adora's sword lets her do things she wouldn't be able to do otherwise in her fight against the Horde?"  
  
His answer was slow in coming, 'Yes."  
  
Marlena sat back in her chair with a satisfied smile, "I thought so."  
  
"Mother, the danger-"  
  
"I know, Adam. But whom would I tell? This is something that needs to be held carefully." She nodded for the waiter to refill her coffee cup and waited until he had left before continuing, "As I've said, I've had a long time to think about you and your sister over the years. I often wondered why Hordak and Skeletor were so desperate to kidnap you. There was something more to it than just you two being the royal heirs. If that was the case, why not just try to assassinate the two of you? Since they didn't try that, I was left again to wonder about the kidnapping. Why didn't Hordak try to ransom Adora? Your father would have done almost anything to get her back safely."  
  
Her train of thoughts left Adam speechless. He had never thought about the impact of losing his sister had had on his parents. He had grown up without the knowledge of her loss. In a certain respect, he had been very lucky. He didn't know how he would cope if she would be lost to him now. As it was, just having the link blocked due to Shadoweaver's spell left him feeling like he was cut off from a part of himself.  
  
Marlena took note of her son's distant expression and nodded. She had thrown him off balance and given him a lot to think about. She nodded to the waiter to clear their table and to bring the check. "I see I've managed to surprise you, Adam."  
  
He nodded absently.  
  
"A mother should know her children," she answered with a small smile still playing about her lips as she signed off on the check to charge it to the room.  
  
He was the first one to stand, going to her side to pull her chair out for her. Automatically doing what years of etiquette had drilled into him by his tutors, Man-At-Arms and his mother.  
  
Marlena smiled up at him as she allowed him to help her up from the table. She noted that he had retreated to etiquette in order to cover for his inability to speak. He was quiet for the entire time on the way back to their suite.  
  
Once inside, Marlena headed straight towards the phone on the desk in the living room and dialed the number she had almost committed to memory. She needed to hear an update on Adora's condition. Be honest with yourself, she chided herself mentally, what you really want to hear is Adora's voice, telling you she's all right. But, logic told her that that would not be a good thing right now. Not with Adora's memories still missing, it might scare her more than help her to talk to her at this point in time.  
  
On the second ring, Chelsea answered the phone with a distracted, "Hello, Marlena."  
  
"How-?" she started to ask before stopping herself and shaking her head. She should be used to strange and different things by now. "Never mind, I keep forgetting that I live in interesting times."  
  
She got a confused look from Adam who was standing by her side and a laugh from Chelsea on the other end of the phone.  
  
"I think the same could be said for me," Chelsea replied, her voice no longer distracted and distant. "Toa answer your question, I knew it would be you, since my friend John has already called and chewed me out for going out after Adora the other night."  
  
Marlena could hear the wince in her voice. "That bad?'  
  
Chelsea sighed, "That bad."  
  
"I'm sorry," Marlena offered, having a pretty good idea on why Chelsea's friend had reacted the way he had.  
  
"Like the saying goes, 'May you live in interesting times,'" Chelsea sighed again. "Anyway, you're not calling to hear about my tangled life, you want to know how Adora's doing."  
  
"Quite right, I'm afraid," Marlena said. She could hear rustling noises over the phone and a door quietly closing a second later.  
  
"There, now I can talk without disturbing Adora," Chelsea stated a moment later.  
  
Marlena waited for an explanation.  
  
"She's resting comfortably for the moment. I just got done placing the acupuncture needles after we did a bunch of work to open up the congestion in her lungs."  
  
"How bad is it?" Marlena questioned.  
  
"Not good, but not as bad as it could be," Chelsea answered. "She's running a low fever - just under a hundred and that's only because I'm keeping her pumped with Tylenol. She has a moderate concussion that she must have picked up after she came through the portal. The Tylenol is helping with the pain for that. Her knee is a mess - I think that the ligaments aren't just strained; they're torn. That I can keep stabilized, since it's secondary to her fever and bronchitis. The bronchitis set in from her long-term exposure to the storm without any sort of winter gear on. We haven't gotten to pneumonia yet, but it's close, real close. I'm doing what I can to keep it from going further, but she needs someone who's a trained healer, or a doctor, soon here." Chelsea laid out the bare bones on Adora's physical condition.  
  
"Does she remember anything beyond arriving here?" Marlena questioned, wondering about the tiredness she could hear creeping into Chelsea's voice.  
  
"Absolutely nothing. Shadoweaver's spell worked all too well in that respect. She has no memory beyond waking up here yesterday morning, and even that is foggy, because of the concussion."  
  
"Can you -" Marlena asked, then stopped, trying to find the right words to what she wanted to ask.  
  
"-Read her and see if the memories are there, but just blocked?" Chelsea guessed at what Marlena was trying to ask. "I did a brief read on her yesterday and I couldn't find her memories. It's like someone formatted the hard drive on a computer - everything is a blank except for the most basic of programming."  
  
Marlena slumped against the desk. The description Chelsea had given her was down right chilling. "That's-"  
  
"Horrifying, monstrous?" Chelsea supplied a few mild words to describe her feelings. "That's just the tip of the iceberg, Marlena. I have more than a few choice words to describe what Shadoweaver did."  
  
That got a half laugh out of Marlena, "Somehow, I'm not surprised you have a whole list, Chelsea. Now, how are you? You sound a bit worn at the edges."  
  
"I'll be all right. I'm just worn down at the moment. I was actually just sitting down to meditate and recharge when you called," Chelsea admitted. "It's been an eventful last couple of days and I haven't gotten more than a couple of hours of sleep at a stretch here."  
  
"The weather's supposed to clear this afternoon and I figure it won't be until morning that the roads are even passable. Do you think you'll be all right until then?" Marlena questioned.  
  
"Yeah, if Adora doesn't take a turn for the worse, I should be fine until then. If she does take a turn for the worse, and I don't think I can handle it, then I'm calling 911 and taking her to a hospital," Chelsea said with a sigh.  
  
"Which could be tricky." Marlena said slowly, thinking out what troubles that could cause.  
  
"You're telling me," Chelsea replied and Marlena could hear the smirk in her voice.  
  
"If that happens, you will call and let us know, yes?"  
  
Chelsea's answer was immediate, "Of course. If that happens, then you or Adam would be able to provide a more thorough medical history than I could. You can also answer those pesky questions about financial responsibility that hospitals so like to ask.'  
  
"The things I don't miss," Marlena quipped.  
  
'You're lucky," Chelsea answered.  
  
A timer chimed in the background and Marlena asked, "Should I let you go if that timer's going off?'  
  
"It's giving me a five minute warning," was Chelsea's answer. "That gives me time to brew a cup of herbal zinger tea for myself for an energy boost before I go change Adora's acupuncture needles."  
  
"Then I will let you go for now," Marlena said, straightening up and no longer leaning against the desk. "Be sure to check back in with us if anything changes."  
  
"I will, I promise," Chelsea answered, silencing the alarm. "Bye, Marlena."  
  
"Bye, Chelsea, and thank you, thank you for taking care of Adora for me," was the mother's answer before she turned and hung up the phone. She placed her hands against the desk and let her head hang down for a moment.  
  
"What is it?" Adam asked  
  
"Chelsea's having a hard time keeping Adora's fever down. She's worried that she might have to call the paramedics to transport her to a hospital," Marlena answered,  
  
Adam frowned. He wanted to avoid interaction with anything remotely related to the authorities here on Earth. He knew from personal experience how the wrong person would react. "Is she using any medications to help with her fever?'  
  
"Besides using Tylenol for the pain, it helps act as a fever reducer. It's helping, but not enough. Adora's temperature isn't staying down."  
  
"Any hints on her getting her memory back?" Adam asked, just in case.  
  
"None, Chelsea said. If we had time, which we don't, Adora's memories might return on their own." But Marlena doubted it, as Chelsea had said, Shadoweaver had known all too well what she was doing when she'd cast the spell.  
  
"As you said, we don't have time."  
  
"Right, Adora's condition otherwise prevents that and Shadoweaver's spell was just too damn strong."  
  
Adam had to agree with his mother's choice of words. He would have to settle the score with Hordak later on. "Sitting here stewing about it won't do either of us much good. Change into your workout clothes; grab your swimsuit and towel. Let's head out of here."  
  
"But - what if Chelsea calls?" was the automatic protest.  
  
"If anyone can figure out where we'll be in the resort, it will be Chelsea," Adam answered, a wry grin on his face.  
  
Marlena had a similar smile on her face, "Right, this is Chelsea."  
  
Moments later, Mother and son again left the suite with towels and swimsuits in hand.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
At the Royal Palace on Eternia, breakfast in the dining room was a strained affair. Teela was again left wondering why Adam and Queen Marlena had been sent to Earth after Princess Adora. Why not She-Ra and/or He-Man, or one of Adora's fellow rebel leaders or even herself for that matter? She didn't understand the close bond Adam had with his sister. She felt like she was lacking in her duties being here on Eternia when the Queen and the Crown Prince were off world without any sort of guards with them.  
  
She looked across the table to her father, who was sitting at the king's right hand and busy picking at his own lunch, much like the king was doing. With a silent sigh, she thought back to the morning before when her father had come to tell her the news.  
  
Her temper had gotten the better of her and she had exploded, "What?! Both the Queen and Adam are gone? They left without taking any sort of guards whatsoever? What were they thinking? I'm going to wring Adam's neck this time."  
  
"Teela-" Duncan began again after her outburst.  
  
"No, Father. It's bad enough that Adam seems to find trouble wherever he goes, but to endanger Queen Marlena on some harebrained adventure of his.." Teela put up with Adam's escapades, but for him to involve his mother was something else. She looked up to the Queen almost as a mother figure.  
  
"The Sorceress called them both, Teela." Duncan tried to explain to his daughter. "You know Prince Adam wouldn't willingly place his mother in danger."  
  
"Why, Father? Why did she call them both and why didn't they take some guards with them?"  
  
"The Sorceress called them both, Teela, because Princess Adora had fallen into a disastrous trap of Hordak and Shadoweaver's making and the Sorceress thought it would be best if Prince Adam and Queen Marlena were sent after her."  
  
"Why, Father?"  
  
"Because Shadoweaver cast a spell that not only wiped Adora of her memories, but dumped her on Earth."  
  
"Earth?!" Teela's shocked answer was much like the King's.  
  
"Yes, Earth." Her father had said on a sigh, having gone through this already with the king.  
  
"Have you told the king this yet?" Teela questioned, the shock of learning where the Sorceress had sent the Queen and Adam, having cooled off her temper. "Why didn't they take any guards with them? They could have helped to find princess Adora that much faster."  
  
"There wasn't time and they can better blend in if it's just the two of them," Duncan explained to his daughter. "Don't forget that Queen Marlena is from Earth, Teela."  
  
Teela nodded, the Queen's background was something of a legend - being a star traveler - was something she had grown up hearing time and again. She looked back to her father, full of more questions, but her instincts told her that he wouldn't have the answers to those questions. "Did the Sorceress say how long they'd be gone?"  
  
Duncan shook his head, "No, and the longer they're gone, the harder it will be on the king."  
  
Teela was in complete agreement with her father on that. For the king to know that his daughter was in danger was one thing, but to have the rest of his family off planet searching for her; made it much worse. Especially when he couldn't join them. He couldn't leave Eternia to be with them, since to leave the throne seemingly vacant, was to invite trouble from the evil forces that still plagued Eternia.  
  
She brought her thoughts back to the present and looked across the table to her father who was trying to engage the king in conversation about matters of state. The kingdom still needed its king, even if its king didn't want it to need him at the moment. She turned her attention inward once more, thinking about the drill she had planned for the latest recruits for the afternoon.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
On Etheria, Seahawk had returned to the village of Gailsbreath to continue the work being done on his ship. The hard labor of scaling barnacles off the hull to climbing the rigging and inspecting the lines, beams and topmast helped keep his mind occupied. He visited with the few members of his crew that had been injured in the skirmish with the Horde troopers.  
  
"How's the hand, Simon?" he asked one crewmember who had his hand in a cast.  
  
"I never could throw a good punch, Cap'n," the sailor replied somewhat sheepishly. "I always put too much behind it when I throw a punch. The healers at the Castle said I'll heal in a couple of weeks. The bones were broken, but not out of place, Cap'n."  
  
"That's good to hear. I'd hate to lose one of the better members of my crew when we set sail in a couple of weeks." Seahawk answered, with a nod.  
  
The sailor stood up a bit straighter at the compliment from his captain. "Nay. Cap'n. I'll be more'n ready to sail. This hand won't hold me back."  
  
"Good, Simon, very good." Seahawk said with meaning behind his words.  
  
"Uhm, beggin' your pardon, Cap'n -"  
  
"What is it, Simon?"  
  
"I heard words, Cap'n, about your lady, Adora. The rebels think real highly of her. I heard, Cap'n, that she was caught in some spell of Hordak's witch. Is that true, Cap'n?"  
  
Seahawk had been dreading this - the having to explain what was going on with Adora when he didn't even know for sure yet himself. He dropped his head and rubbed a hand over his face. "You heard right, Simon. Adora did fall into a trap of Hordak's making."  
  
"What happened, Cap'n, if'n you don't mind me asking?" Simon appeared genuinely concerned.  
  
"I don't really know, Simon. I got there too late to hear all of it," Seahawk admitted. "Something about 'lost in a lost world.' I saw her disappear in a swirl of black smoke and got knocked out right after that. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in Brightmoon with none other than Queen Angela acting as my nursemaid."  
  
Both men were quiet for a long moment. Simon was the one to speak first, "What now, Cap'n? What can we do to help rescue your lady?"  
  
Seahawk ran a hand through his hair, "No, there's nothing we can do right now, Simon. I don't even know where Adora is. I wouldn't even begin to know where to being looking for her or how to start."  
  
"Cap'n?" Simon was confused. Surely his captain wasn't giving up?  
  
Seahawk read the confusion on the younger sailor's face. "Queen Angela is leading the search for her, since she has more resources to search with than I do. Once she finds her, she'll let me know."  
  
"What can we do in the meantime, Cap'n?"  
  
"Hope, Simon, hope. And, work to get this ship back in the water. We have a score to settle with Hordak," Seahawk's face was filled with grim determination. He would make the Horde fleet suffer for what happened in the forest just two nights ago. Already it felt like it had happened much longer ago. He suddenly felt tired and on the verge of collapse. The lingering effects of Hordak's stun cannon were coming back with a vengeance.  
  
Swen, seeming to know his captain's state, came over and said, 'C-cap'n? I think you wanted to see those plans?"  
  
"Yes, Swen." Seahawk answered with a faint nod. He turned back to Simon and said, "Take care of that hand, Sailor. We have some fights to pick with the Horde here."  
  
"Yes, sir!"  
  
Seahawk moved off, a hand on Swen's shoulder to keep from stumbling in exhaustion.  
  
Back in his quarters, Seahawk sat down heavily in a chair at the table that was covered in blueprints and drawings of the Solar Sailor.  
  
"Thanks, Swen," he said, his voice almost trembling.  
  
Swen frowned at his captain, "Y-you o-over did it, Cap'n."  
  
"I know, I know," Seahawk didn't bother to argue with Swen. He was too tired.  
  
Swen bustled about, turning down the sheets on the bed and then turning back to pull off Seahawk's boots. "Y-you n-need to r-rest more Cap'n."  
  
Seahawk sighed and answered, "I'm beginning to agree with you there, Swen."  
  
"I-I'll bring up a t-tray for you l-later C-cap'n."  
  
Seahawk nodded wearily and pushed himself up out of the chair. He leaned against the table for a moment, waiting for his vision to clear, taking a few slow, deep breaths. He pushed himself away from the table and trudged slowly across the room to the bed. He sank down into the soft comfort of the bed. His last conscious thoughts on Adora, hoping to be able to get to her soon. 


	7. Chapter 6 Aching for the Warmth of a Bu...

***If you really want to read the silly disclaimer, go back to the Prologue - I am not going to post it all over again! :-p***  
  
Chapter VI * * * *  
  
On Earth, Chelsea was fighting a losing battle to keep Adora's temperature down. The digital thermometer beeped and with a frown, she noticed that Adora's temperature had rise now up to 100.2 degrees from the 99.7 of just an hour ago. Adora's face was flushed, but she was shivering, unable to stay warm.  
  
Chelsea arranged the llama's wool blanket to better cover Adora, even though they were sitting in front of the roaring fire on the couch in the living room. She reached over to the table next to her and picked up the mug of tea, pressing it into Adora's hands.  
  
"Your fever's gone up even more, Adora and we still have some time to go before I can give you more Tylenol to try and bring it down."  
  
Adora gave a small nod and sipped at the tea. "I can't get warm."  
  
"That's because you're putting out an incredible amount of body heat," Chelsea answered, sitting back and pushing up the sleeves on her oversized denim shirt she wore over a black t-shirt with a white mask and a red rose on the front of it and a pair of black leggings. She had a half smile on her face, "Normally I'm the one who's cold."  
  
Adora couldn't quite manage to smile in return, but did take a sip of the honeyed tea. She had both hands wrapped tightly around the mug, soaking up the heat from the coffee mug.  
  
Chelsea sighed and continued seriously, "I don't like how your temperature is continuing to climb, Adora. I don't want to call in outside medical people on this, Adora, but if your fever doesn't come down or break tonight, I will."  
  
"Why don't you want to call them?" Adora asked, sipping more of the tea. It helped to give her some warmth from the inside out and soothed her ragged throat.  
  
"Because they would ask too many questions. Questions that neither your mother or I really feel that the authorities here on Earth are ready to handle," Chelsea answered sipping from her soda. She didn't need the caffeine so much as she wanted the sweet taste of the carbonated cola.  
  
"Oh," was all Adora could think to say as she sipped more of the tea.  
  
Chelsea had another half smile on her face as she explained, "As I've said before, most people on this planet, especially the authorities, are not ready yet to accept visitors of your nature - even though we're actively searching for life out beyond this planet. Your mother is one of those who was searching for life. Trying to explain who you are and not end up locked in a nice, padded room, or even worse, having the military come barging in." Chelsea paused and shook her head, "Not what I want to deal with. We'd have one heck of a time extricating ourselves out of that mess."  
  
Adora was quiet as she tried to process that information. Her head hurt and she felt dizzy again. She closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath against the dizziness, only to erupt into a coughing jag again.  
  
Chelsea immediately set her soda down and began patting Adora's back, trying to help her clear the congestion keeping her from taking a full breath. It took a few moments, but it seemed to help.  
  
Adora gave Chelsea a grateful look as she sipped again from the tea.  
  
Chelsea merely said, "It's all part of my duties as hostess and healer." She got up from the couch and began thumbing thru her DVD collection she had brought, "Action movie? No. Mystery Naw. Romance? Oh, why the heck not." She slipped the chosen DVD from its sleeve in the CD wallet and powered up the DVD player. She looked back over to Adora. "Something frivolous and fun and it doesn't require brain power to watch it."  
  
As she sat back on the couch, the opening sequence for Kate and Leopold came up on the TV screen. Chelsea used the remote control and chose the director's cut. She curled up in the recliner next to the couch and picked up her book and settled in to watch the movie and do some reading.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Adora watched the movie with blurry eyes and throbbing head. Her fever seemed to be increasing her headache and making it hard for her to concentrate on anything at all. She leaned back into the couch and pulled the blanket tighter about her battered body. Chelsea's light massage work and acupuncture treatments had helped to relieve some of the stiffness she had felt for a short time, but the rising fever continued to undo all of her work. She let the movie flow past her, not able to concentrate on much of anything. Her mind felt like the weather outside - a swirling mass of white snow. So much white noise that it hurt. She closed her eyes and tried to think of warmth. She was tired of shivering and being cold, so tired.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Chelsea checked her watch and saw that it was time for Adora to take more of the Tylenol, but she didn't want to give it to her if she was resting comfortably. She hit pause on the remote and uncurled herself from her chair. Adora looked to be resting, but her fair skin was flushed, showing just how much of a fever she was running. She hated to disturb Adora, but she needed to see what her temperature was and get more Tylenol and fluids into her. She laid a hand on Adora's forehead, frowning at the heat. Adora barely stirred at Chelsea's touch and that was a bad sign. She went hunting for the other digital thermometer and smiled triumphantly for finding it buried in her bag. She returned to the living room to Adora's side. She turned on the thermometer and placed it in Adora's ear. A moment later it beeped and Chelsea read what the display said, a frown deepening on her face. Adora's temperature had risen up to 101.9.  
  
"Damn," she swore, caught between trying to wake Adora or letting her sleep thru the fever. She had no choice; she had to wake her to get more Tylenol in her. She went into the kitchen to pour her guest/patient a glass of cool orange juice. She needed to bring Adora's temperature down, but was unsure if she should go to ice to bring down Adora's temperature, or just use cool cloths. Either way, she felt it would be better if she got Adora back upstairs and into bed. With a sigh, she took the Tylenol and orange juice and moved back out to the living room.  
  
She sat back down on the coffee table in front of Adora and placing a hand on Adora's shoulder, Chelsea began the task of waking Adora up. "Adora," she said softly. "Adora, wake up. I need for you to take more medicine. Your fever's getting too high."  
  
Adora made a small noise of protest and her head turned restlessly against the couch cushions.  
  
"Adora, you need to wake up now."  
  
Again, a protest, but this time the eyes half opened before sliding shut again.  
  
Chelsea sighed and settled herself more firmly on the table. "Time to ground and center." she said to herself. She grounded herself and lowered her shields to reach out mentally this time to wake Adora. :Adora, come on, you need to wake up now.:  
  
Another small protest and Adora opened her eyes, but not seeing Chelsea in front of her.  
  
:Come on, Adora. That's it. Look at me." Chelsea encouraged. "Focus on me, Adora. You can do it."  
  
Adora blinked her eyes several times before dragging a slow hand across them to wipe away the sleep from them.  
  
"I know you're tired, Adora, but you need to take more Tylenol. Your fever's still climbing," Chelsea said verbally.  
  
Adora's thoughts were still unfocused Chelsea could feel that through the cautious link she had established with her.  
  
"Focus, Adora. Just a little bit longer, then you can go back to sleep," Chelsea promised.  
  
"Chel-sea?" Adora questioned slowly.  
  
"That's right, it's me, Adora." Chelsea encouraged.  
  
Adora's eyes managed to gain focus on Chelsea. Chelsea smiled at her and leaned forward, "I have more Tylenol for you to take, Adora."  
  
Chelsea could sense the confusion that still clouded Adora's mind and wished she had enough control over her healing talents in order to help Adora more than by just forcing more Tylenol down her throat and basic acupuncture. Adora slowly pushed the confusion back and managed to focus on Chelsea.  
  
"I didn't want to wake you, Adora, but you need more Tylenol," Chelsea stated, with an apologetic smile.  
  
"How long was I asleep?" Adora questioned, drawing a limp hand down her face.  
  
"Not more than a couple of hours, I'm afraid."  
  
Adora held out a hand and took the Tylenol Chelsea placed in her hand between swallows of the orange juice that Chelsea handed her.  
  
"Do you think you can make it back upstairs? I want to get you back under the vaporizer and have you closer to the bathroom," Chelsea explained.  
  
"I- think so," Adora answered as she swallowed more of the juice. She carefully sat up straighter on the couch and handed Chelsea her juice glass.  
  
It took effort and pausing a few times along the way, but Chelsea managed to get Adora back upstairs to the bedroom and settled back into the bed with her knee carefully propped up.  
  
Chelsea changed the cd out and put on another Celtic cd, this time full of Gaelic ballads. She hummed softly to herself as she moved out of the bedroom and back to the bathroom in order to get a cool washcloth to wipe down Adora's flushed face. She had to bring the fever down and right now, she didn't know if she should be wrapping her up in more blankets or trying to cool her off.  
  
She mumbled to herself, "What is it again? Starve a cold, feed a fever or feed a cold, starve a fever? Damn, I can never get that one straight. I guess I'd best work on starving the fever, since I need to bring her temperature down." She thought for a minute and remembered a lesson from her grandmother, "Starve the fever- especially when the body temperature is over 100 degrees."  
  
Chelsea decided she'd add extra blankets on to the bed if Adora got cold, but right now, she was so hot that she needed to bring Adora's temperature down fast. Humming along to the Gaelic ballads, she went back to the bedroom with a small bowl of cool water and a washcloth in hand. Her grandmother must have had one of her moments of foresight to leave the bowl in the bathroom and Chelsea had really had no reason to use that bathroom until she had brought Adora home.  
  
Upon returning to the room, she saw that Adora had fallen back into a restless sleep. Her fair skin was flushed and she was sweating heavily. She set the bowl down on the nightstand and the sound awoke Adora with a startled gasp, her hand reaching for a weapon that wasn't there. Adora's unfocused eyes did not recognize Chelsea.  
  
Realizing that Adora wasn't seeing her, Chelsea immediately started projecting warmth and comfort.  
  
"Adora, breathe," she said, projecting reassurance. "You're safe here. No one's going to harm you."  
  
"Chel- ?" Adora tried to say, but ended up in a massive coughing jag.  
  
Chelsea quickly dropped the washcloth in the bowl and helped Adora sit up and began patting her on the back to help loosen the congestion that was choking her.  
  
Adora finally managed to cough up some of the congestion and then was able to get her breath back. She was trembling with exhaustion and reaction to the dream as Chelsea continued to pat her back.  
  
"Do you remember what you were dreaming about?" Chelsea asked, propping the pillows up so Adora could lean back against them.  
  
Adora drew in a ragged breath and coughed a little before answering, "I - I was being chased."  
  
"Do you know by whom?" Chelsea asked, wringing the washcloth out in the cold water.  
  
"Not a person," Adora answered, still fighting to breathe without coughing. "It wasn't a person. Things. They were black, shapeless and." she paused, trying to find the right word, ".Evil."  
  
Chelsea wiped down Adora's face and wondered if Adora was remembering something, or if the dream had been brought on by the fever. "Just relax and concentrate on what I said - nothing can harm you here. You are safe here. My whole goal is to see you well enough to rejoin your family."  
  
"I know that," Adora admitted ruefully, fighting to keep her eyes open once more, "But my dreams don't seem to want to listen."  
  
"Just hold that in your thoughts as you go back to sleep. I will be here to remind you, you are safe if the dream returns," Chelsea soothed.  
  
"What language is this music in?" Adora questioned, trying to find something to distract herself from sleep that was trying to claim her once more.  
  
"It's Gaelic. The ancient language of Ireland and Scotland," Chelsea answered, continuing to wipe down Adora's face and neck. "Ironically enough, it's also where your mother's ancestors came from before they settled here in the states."  
  
"How do you know that?" Adora questioned, surprised by Chelsea's knowledge.  
  
"The red hair gives us away, every time," Chelsea answered with a small laugh. "That's the short and easy explanation. I also had a chance to sit down and talk with her once and that was one of the things we talked about."  
  
Adora coughed again, and Chelsea patiently patted her on the back, sending her her strength through her hands, helping her to cough up more of the congestion in her chest. When it was over, she leaned back into the pillows, her face a contrast of pale white and fever red. Adora breathed shallowly, trying to get her breath back. Chelsea returned to wiping her face down once more and hummed softly along with the Gaelic music.  
  
"What is this song about?" Adora questioned, trying to stave off sleep. She was afraid if she slept the nightmare would return or she would not be able to breathe. She feared not being able to breathe the most.  
  
"Ah," Chelsea said on a sigh of understanding, her talents kicking into place, telling her of Adora's fears. "This song is about an Irish Queen of legend. her name was Meave, and she was the Queen of Ulster, a principality in Ireland. She rallied her people and was able to not only make a stand against an invading army, but soundly defeated them."  
  
She reached over and wrung out the washcloth in the cool water and wiped down Adora's face once again. She knew that the best thing for Adora was sleep. She decided to try and get her to sleep once more.  
  
"You need to sleep, Adora," she said, continuing the soothing strokes with the washcloth.  
  
"I don't want to," was the answer, almost like that of an overly tired child, who refused to go to sleep.  
  
"I know you don't, but it's the best thing for you," Chelsea answered, still sensing Adora's fear. She sent reassurance and comfort to Adora, hoping to ease her back to sleep once more.  
  
Chelsea settled her voice into a story telling cadence and began translating the song for Adora, telling her the story of Meave, the Queen of Ulster. The song ended and switched to a more rollicking tale about Grainne O'Malley, a so-called 'pirate queen' who fought against the English onslaught during the era of Queen Elizabeth the First. She continued the soothing stroking with the cool washcloth, pausing only long enough to pick up the bottle of essential eucalyptus oil she'd left there and put a few drops in the palm of one hand, then smoothed the palm of that hand over the base of Adora's throat, spreading the oil for Adora to breathe in its scent to help with the congestion in her chest.  
  
The elements of Chelsea's voice, her continued stroking of Adora's face, the music and Adora's fever all combined to lure her back to sleep. Chelsea sighed with a small measure of relief when Adora's ragged breathing evened out to a more even pattern, indicating sleep. She settled herself in for a long afternoon and night of tending to her patient and again wished she had better control over her healing gifts.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Down in the resort's rather large gym complex, Marlena found herself relearning Tai Chi forms with a seemingly elderly Chinese gentleman who had asked her if she would be his workout partner. He was almost as limber as a young adult, Marlena soon realized as he showed her how to correct the Tai- Chi forms he was showing her. Adam, on the other hand, pushed himself again with the weight machines under the careful eye of the trainer. Marlena found herself laughing as her partner flirted outrageously with her. The gentleman even managed to coax out of her an edited down version of why she was in the area, since he couldn't help but notice the tension she was radiating as it was interfering with her concentration on learning the forms. She knew his face from somewhere, but couldn't place it. Pushing her through the workout, the charming gentleman revealed that he was an actor and that by being Chinese and studying the martial arts, had kept him steadily employed throughout his years in Hollywood.  
  
That was how Marlena finally placed him - she recognized him from various films and TV series. She smiled and found humor in relearning tai chi by a Hollywood actor. When she was working on cooling down, Adam came over to join her; clearly looking to do some cool down exercises, after pushing himself hard on the weight machines. Marlena tipped her head towards her workout partner.  
  
"Take your lead from him, Adam. He knows what he's doing," Marlena said and concentrated on finishing the forms shown to her as part of her cool down routine.  
  
"Yes, Mother," Adam answered, wiping the sweat from his face.  
  
"Come, young man, let me show you how to finish your exercise routine," the older man beckoned, still barely having broken a sweat. He bowed to Adam who returned the bow.  
  
"Yes, sir," Adam answered formally.  
  
Marlena carefully finished the last of her forms, bowed to the older man and said, "I am leaving my son in your capable hands."  
  
"I thank you for the privilege of having not one, but two wonderful workout partners," the older man replied just as formally, but with a hint of mischief playing about his face.  
  
Marlena chuckled and went off to the locker rooms to change before heading for the hot tub.  
  
Adam found himself being pushed through an entirely different set of exercises that left him trembling with exhaustion by the time the older gentleman was done with him. He managed to drag himself to the hot tub to soak, following his mother's example. He sat in the hot water for quite a few minutes before he felt human enough to go take a shower.  
  
Marlena had soaked in the hot tub for a bit, then waded in the pool before taking a shower. She took her time, knowing that Adam would be a while yet, and headed for the spa. The spa was clearly busy with many bored and restless clients waiting for the weather to break before they could go back out on the slopes. She waited for the receptionist to finish talking with a customer, an ultra thin woman dripping with jewelry, before approaching the desk. She asked the receptionist if it would be possible to get a massage appointment for that day, thinking she'd be lucky if she could get herself in.  
  
"Let me check Jeanie's appointment book. I know she's in with a client now, but I don't know how her schedule looks for the rest of the day," the cute receptionist said, sitting down in front of her computer and pulling up the electronic calendar program. With a few clicks of the mouse, Katie studied the monitor for a moment, "You're in luck. She had an appointment at 3:30, which cancelled, so that's open, and then she doesn't have anything scheduled right now after this client."  
  
Marlena couldn't believe her luck. Two openings? She quickly made up her mind. "Great. I'll take them both."  
  
"Both?" the receptionist was a little surprised.  
  
"Yes, I know someone who'll need it more than me when he gets done," Marlena answered with a quick nod.  
  
"All right," the girl answered and then asked, "What names do you want me to put down for these slots?"  
  
"Marlena and Adam."  
  
"I take it you want the first appointment?" the girl questioned, clicking with her mouse to put their names into the computer.  
  
"Yes. How long do you think it will be?"  
  
"Jeanie should be finishing up with her client now, but it will be about a half hour before she's ready for you," was the answer. Obviously it had been drilled into her to make sure that the massage therapist had 'down time' between her appointments.  
  
"That will work just perfectly. I have to inform the other person where to meet me when he gets done down in the gym and pool area." Marlena said with a smile. At least something was going right for the day.  
  
"I have you confirmed in the calendar now, and I'll let Jeanie know as soon as she finishes with this client." The receptionist said, her hands moving over the keyboard and smiling up at Marlena.  
  
Marlena nodded and walked back to the pool area to find Adam. She figured he would be n the whirlpool by this point in time and she was correct, "Adam, I'm going to the spa. When you get done soaking, come find me there. I made an appointment for you to get a massage later on," she said, crouching down by his head.  
  
"Right," Adam answered with a weary nod.  
  
"Don't fall asleep and I'll see you in about an hour and a half," Marlena said and laid a hand on his shoulder before getting up and leaving. She returned to the spa to meet up with the massage therapist.  
  
Upon returning to the spa, Marlena asked the receptionist, "I'm surprised to find this place functioning like it were any normal day. I would have thought that most of the staff would be snowbound in their homes."  
  
"Oh, well, the thing of it is, we have the option of staying in dormitories that the resort built to keep the employees close at hand for weather like this, or staying home and using up our vacation and or sick days if we want to get paid, or not getting paid. Those of us who don't have families to take care, we tend to stay and sleep in the dorms. It gets crowded and noisy, but we don't miss out on using our vacation time when we really want it," the girl answered brightly.  
  
Moments later, the massage therapist came forward and introduced herself before leading Marlena back to the massage room. During the massage, Marlena let herself relax, breathing into the massage as the therapist skillfully treated body and spirit. She set aside her worries for Adora for the moment, knowing that Chelsea would call if she was in over her head.  
  
Jeanie finished and brushed her hands off to dispel the negative energy she had pulled from Marlena. "I'll be right outside the door if you need me. Be sure to be careful and to take your time getting up off the table." She slipped out the door, quietly closing it behind her.  
  
"I will," Marlena murmured; loathe to move at the moment. Her body felt so wonderfully relaxed. It took her a couple of minutes to gather up the energy to move and get dressed. The massage therapist had had the foresight to leave a bottle of mineral water sitting on the small table next to the door for Marlena. Now that she was moving, Marlena realized she was thirsty and that bottle of cool mineral water was calling her name. She got dressed and sipped gratefully at the water before heading out the door of the massage room.  
  
Jeanie got up from where she was doing her paperwork and sipping at a bottle of water. "How do you feel?"  
  
"Wonderfully relaxed," Marlena answered with a genuine smile.  
  
"Good," the therapist named Jeanie returned Marlena's smile. "It's not often I get a client who knows how to work with me when I'm working on them."  
  
"I've had some experience," Marlena said.  
  
The cute blonde receptionist, whose nametag read Katie, came back and popped her head into the alcove where Jeanie and Marlena were, "I'm sorry for interrupting, Jeannie, but your next appointment is here."  
  
"That's all right, Katie," Jeanie answered, standing up.  
  
"It's my son," Marlena stated, taking another sip of her water.  
  
Katie gushed, "Oh my gosh! He's your son?! He's just so hot!" She immediately clapped a hand over her mouth and blushed bright red.  
  
Marlena laughed and sipped again at her water. It felt good, for the moment to have someone say something without any political motive behind it, someone with no reason to try and curry favor with the Queen or the King.  
  
"Give me a couple of minutes to get the room reset and finish my paperwork, Katie," Jeanie answered, chuckling, obviously used to Katie saying things she probably shouldn't.  
  
"Right," Katie answered, her cheeks still bright red as she hurried back out front.  
  
Marlena laughed again and said, "Oh, the wonders of youth."  
  
Jeanie looked sideways at her and stated, "You don't look to be all that old, yourself."  
  
"Why, thank you," Marlena replied, "but I've traveled a long and hard path to come back here."  
  
"To come back here? You're from Colorado?"  
  
"Yes, from Telluride, originally, but I've since 'moved out of the area,'" Marlena stated, leaving out how far out of the area.  
  
Jeanie looked at Marlena speculatively, but said nothing.  
  
"I'll let you get ready for Adam. I think you'll more than have your work cut out for you with him." Marlena sipped at her water again and headed for the front of the spa where Adam was waiting.  
  
Jeanie shook her head. She'd had mysterious clients before, it came with working in a resort, but something about Marlena hinted that her secrets were greater than most. She wondered if her client was a former Hollywood starlet, hoping to protect her privacy by traveling under her real name versus a stage name. She finished her paperwork before she headed for the closet where she kept the fresh linens for the massage table and went to go make up the room for her next client.  
  
Marlena walked back out to find Adam leaning negligently against the doorway, watching the flow of people in the hallway. His damp hair was curling at the nape of his neck and the sweatpants and t-shirt he wore accentuated his lean, muscular frame. It made it very easy for her to understand why Katie had said what she had. Oh, it wasn't anything new, but the competition to be the bride to the heir to the throne of Eternos was in high gear. Unless it was an absolute necessity, she and her husband had quietly vowed that Adam would be allowed to marry for love, not politics. They had married for love, so why shouldn't their children be able to.  
  
Katie was keeping herself busy at the desk; still slipping covert glances at Adam when she thought he wasn't looking. Marlena kept her amusement hidden as Jeanie came out to greet Adam.  
  
"Jeanie, this is my son, Adam," Marlena presented with a wave of her hand.  
  
"Hello, Adam, nice to meet you," Jeanie said shaking hands with him. "I understand you're my next client?"  
  
"Yeah," Adam admitted with a half smile.  
  
"Well, come on back with me and we'll get started," Jeanie motioned for Adam to follow her and turned to lead the way.  
  
Adam straightened up from his lounging position and followed her with one last glance at his mother.  
  
"I'm heading back to the suite," she said with a small nod and moved to the receptionist desk.  
  
Adam knew she would call and check in with Chelsea for an update on Adora's condition. "Right, I'll meet you back there." He rounded the corner as Marlena approached Katie.  
  
"I didn't bring my wallet down with me from our suite, would it be possible to charge it to the room?" Marlena asked.  
  
"Sure, what room are you in?" Katie answered, hitting the keys on her computer.  
  
Marlena smiled and answered, "We're in the penthouse suite."  
  
"You are? Oh cool. I've always wanted to stay in a penthouse suite just to see what it's like." Katie blurted out before she could stop her wayward tongue again. Her cheeks were full of color again as she realized she was rambling. She sat down at her desk and pulled up the charge system with a few deft keystrokes. She asked, "What name did you register under?"  
  
"Marlena Randor."  
  
"I see that here. Just give me one moment and I'll have the charge slip for you to sign," Katie answered as the printer on her desk started whirring. It spit out one piece of paper and she handed it to Marlena for her to sign, "Here is the copy with the explanation of the charges for today's sessions, I just need your signature at the bottom in order to charge it to your room."  
  
Marlena looked at the invoice briefly, the charges were high, but she was paying resort fees. She signed her name with a flourish to the invoice and handed it back to Katie.  
  
Katie filed that receipt away and then handed Marlena the second receipt, "This one is your receipt, besides the explanation of the charges, this copy also has the number to call here at the spa if you need anything else during your stay here."  
  
Marlena nodded and sipped again at the water Jeanie had provided for her. She smiled again at Katie and said, "I'll be sure to call if I need anything else." She thought briefly about getting her hair cut, just to see Randor's reaction when she got back home, but decided against it. She said a mental prayer that the weather would clear soon, so she and Adam could look for Adora's sword. She smiled again at Katie and took her leave, heading back to the locker room where she'd left her swimsuit, towel and room key. She wanted to check on the weather reports and call Chelsea to see if there was any news about Adora.  
  
Jeanie interviewed Adam once they got back to the massage room, marking down his answers on the clipboard she kept filled with her profile questionnaires for new clients. She wanted to know more about him, since due to his muscled frame, she had a feeling she would have her work cut out for her with him. "Tell me Adam, have you ever had a full body massage?"  
  
Adam thought for a moment, "No, I can't say as I have."  
  
Jeanie marked it down on her clipboard.  
  
"Why? What difference does it make?" Adam questioned.  
  
"It doesn't really make a difference, but with a full body massage, the goal is to treat the whole person, not just an area that was injured."  
  
Adam nodded, he recalled Chelsea saying something like that once.  
  
"Now, do you have any underlying health issues that I need to be aware of - diabetes, heart problems, or circulatory issues?"  
  
"No, nothing like that," Adam answered.  
  
Jeanie smiled and drew a line through the boxes for those questions, "I didn't think so, but I want to make sure that I didn't stir up anything by accident. Now, I can see that you are obviously something of an athlete, Adam. Have you ever torn muscles or ligaments in your workouts or sport?"  
  
Adam paused again, wondering how much he should tell her. How many times had he pulled a shoulder, bruised his ribs or twisted a knee when fighting Skeletor. the list went on. "Yes, I've probably injured every muscle and ligament at some point or another."  
  
Jeanie blinked and nodded, marking that down, "You must play soccer. You don't look like a football player."  
  
Adam nodded. He had played soccer in the past; it was easier than trying to tell her the truth. "But, I've been lucky in knowing a good healer. I really haven't suffered any lingering effects from those injuries."  
  
Jeanie blinked again and processed the word, "Healer? Don't you mean doctor?"  
  
"No, she's a healer, not a doctor." Adam answered. Healer was just one of the Sorceress' talents.  
  
"Healer," Jeanie repeated. "It's strange to hear that word used. Not many westerners use that word. They seem to think it's a stigma to go to a healer versus a doctor."  
  
Adam said, "I understand, but I'm not from around here."  
  
Jeanie looked at her questionnaire, it looked like he had answered all of her questions about medical history. "Now, before we begin, do you have any current injuries or trouble spots that I need to be aware of?"  
  
Adam shook his head, "Nothing in particular. I'm just more tired than anything. My mother has a vindictive streak- she turned me over to Mr. Lee, the guest from California who happens to be a Tai Chi master."  
  
Jeanie laughed. "I've met Mr. Lee and I've worked out with him. You're right, your mother does have a vindictive streak." She continued, "I thank you for taking the time to answer all my questions, Adam. I will leave you to get undressed and to get underneath the covers on the massage table here. While I go heat up some pillows for your back."  
  
Adam looked at her surprised. He hadn't thought his back was sore until she mentioned it.  
  
"I'm trained to recognize the signs," Jeanie answered with a smile. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She moved to the corner of the room, hitting play on the CD player, so a soaring choral new age piece by a group called Liberia spiraled out of the speakers. She picked up a few of the pillows she kept in the basket next to the stereo and headed for the door. "Let's start out with you face down, and when I come back in, I'll adjust the face cradle if necessary for you."  
  
She left the room, closing the door securely behind her.  
  
The door shut out most of the noise from the spa and the music covered the rest of it. Adam sensed that this room was designed especially for its quietness, to give the clients a sense of peace while getting their massage. He undressed and slipped underneath the warm blankets on the massage table, listening to the music. It reminded Adam of Castle Grayskull - ancient, full of mystery, knowledge and power. He realized now that his back was starting to hurt. He hadn't thought that the slight twinge he'd felt when he'd gotten out of the shower was anything, but now it was becoming an ache. Pushing it to the side, he concentrated on the music. He knew the language wasn't in English for the most part. It sounded more ancient and powerful. He would have to ask Jeanie what the other language the music was in. It swirled around him and made him feel like he was sheltered from the world.  
  
He barely heard the knock on the door a few minutes later as Jeanie returned with the heated pillows.  
  
"Adam? Are you ready?" she asked, cracking the door open.  
  
"Yeah," was the muffled answer. He would have thought that laying face down with his back to the door would have left him feeling vulnerable, but the whole room exuded peace. He wondered briefly if Jeanie had any magical talents besides being a massage therapist.  
  
He did tense slightly when he felt her hand touch him about mid back. He hadn't realized that she had moved that far into the room and was startled by her touch.  
  
Jeanie noted his reaction and said, "I'll try to keep a hand on you at all times to let you know where I'm at, if that will help you."  
  
"I've learned the hard way to watch my back," Adam admitted, releasing the muscles that had tensed at her initial touch.  
  
Jeanie said nothing as she folded back the sheet and blanket covering him and began placing the pillows on his back and one around his neck. "How do these feel? Are they hitting the spots that are sore?"  
  
Adam wondered how she knew where his back was starting to hurt.  
  
"This muscle group is one you use for doing Tai Chi, so when you start doing forms, these muscles get more use than normal," Jeanie explained, putting lotion on her hands and rubbing them together to warm them up. "What I'll do is, I'll start with your feet and work my way up your legs and do some work on your arms before I work on your back. Be sure to let me know if the pressure is too much, or if something really hurts. The purpose here is not to cause pain, but to release tension and ease any pain."  
  
"Right," Adam answered, adjusting his face in the cradle. It wasn't quite comfortable for him, he felt like his chin was wedged against the edge of the table.  
  
"How about I adjust the face cradle? It looks like you're trying to be a turtle and tuck your head down between your shoulders," Jeanie stated, moving to do just that. She unlocked the latches for it and adjusted it until Adam's head was in a more comfortable position. The slight easing of his neck and shoulders was immediately apparent to her trained eye. "Better?"  
  
"Yeah," came the muffled answer.  
  
"Great, like I said, I'll start with your feet and work my way up from there," Jeanie said, grabbing the lotion bottle and moving to the foot of the table. She adjusted the bolster so it supported his ankles and adjusted his position on the table to give her better access to his feet. When she had that arranged to her satisfaction, she began working on his right foot, talking to him and letting him know what she was doing.  
  
Adam found himself surprised when Jeanie started working on his feet that immediately she found all the tender spots.  
  
"Reflexology is a funny thing," Jeanie said, pausing a moment to briskly rub her hands together to warm them up and then placing them back around a particularly tender spot on his right foot. "It's the study of how certain areas of the body 'reflect' what's happening in another part of the body. For instance, this knot in your foot here reflects how your back is sore. We're only just now, in Western medicine beginning to truly understand how important it is to treat the whole person, not just the symptoms. Of course, in Eastern medicine, they've been doing that for centuries." She paused again for a moment and concentrated on the knot. She resumed her deep strokes and the knot eased, with a few more strokes she had managed to dissolve it.  
  
Adam absorbed the information that Jeanie was giving him and filed it away for future reference. He didn't understand how the 'medicine' of this world had two such different views, but it was interesting.  
  
Letting him know what she was doing with each change of position, she moved from working on his foot, to loosening up his ankle and then his calf. She had to pause to remind him to not 'help' her, to let her do the work of supporting his ankle and lower leg.  
  
"Relax and let me do the work, Adam," she chided with a smile. The way he reacted to her working on him, she could tell that he was not used to letting someone else do work for him. "The more you 'help' me, the less your body gets a chance to relax and realize what I'm doing to help it."  
  
She smoothed out another group of small, little bubbles of lactic acid buildup, rice krispies she dubbed them around his ankle. "Do you feel those little bubbles popping?"  
  
"Yeah," Adam answered, beginning to truly relax into the massage.  
  
"That's lactic acid build up in your muscles. Be sure to drink plenty of water when we get done, or else those little bubbles will return ten fold and you'll be a sore puppy tomorrow. And, I don't mean the tap water. Unfortunately, our tap water is pretty wretched tasting, so I'd stick with bottled water that has a slight mineral content to it to give it a little bit of flavor and nutrients," Jeanie instructed, pausing again as she encountered a rather sizable knot in his right calf muscles.  
  
"I'll do that," Adam answered and then let out his breath in a slow hiss of surprised pain. The tenderness of the spot surprised him.  
  
"You seem to be holding a lot of tension in this area," Jeanie commented as she again briskly rubbed her hands together to make them warmer and placed her hands on the knot, concentrating on sending heat to the muscle to ease the tension knot.  
  
Adam gave a rueful, half laugh, "Tension. Yeah, I seem to be surrounded by it lately."  
  
Jeanie took that under consideration and a moment later said, "Here's where you help me, Adam. I want you to visualize the muscle relaxing with the heat here. Take a slow, deep breath in, fill your lungs as full as you can, concentrate on bringing in positive energy with the breath. Hold the breath for a minute, then slowly let it out, taking the negative energy with it."  
  
Adam followed her instructions, trying not to hiss as she tried to manipulate the muscle.  
  
"That's a little better, but it's still awfully tight. Let's repeat it again and see if I can get this knot to release," Jeanie instructed, keeping his shin resting against her shoulder as she rubbed her hands together to heat them up again and placed them on the tender muscle. She concentrated on getting the muscle to release as Adam repeated the breathing exercise she had given him to do.  
  
Through patience, heat and gentle manipulation, she was able to get some release out of the muscle, but decided to move on, before she overworked it and did more damage than good to it. "I'll put some liniment on this and go to work on your other leg now. I'm afraid if I continue to work this muscle, I'll overwork it and end up hurting it worse." She set the leg down and moved over to the side of the room where she kept her lotions on a simple set of wooden shelves. Her voice as she moved, let Adam know her position in the room, allowing him to stay in a more relaxed state. She applied the liniment with gentle, soothing strokes as Adam continued the breathing exercise.  
  
Adam breathed in the scents of the room - the woodsy smell of the incense, the faint floral scent of the essential oil Jeanie had daubed at the base of the face cradle and the spicy-citrus scent of the massage lotion. Relaxing further into the table and feeling the heat of the pillows on his back soak into the sore muscles, he voiced his earlier thoughts, "I noticed that even though the salon is bustling right outside the door, you can hardly hear it and the whole room seems to give off this sense of peace. Like once you step through the door into here, you're stepping out of time. Why is that? Do you have some talents other than being a massage therapist?"  
  
Jeanie smiled and took her time answering. "Not a lot of the clients I get notice the 'out of time' feeling."  
  
Adam's short laugh was full of irony, "I've learned to appreciate the quiet moments."  
  
"You must lead an interesting life," Jeanie said, artfully draping the blankets back over his one leg before uncovering his left leg and beginning to work on it.  
  
"I believe the Chinese have a saying, 'May you live in interesting times' and that certainly seems to apply to me," Adam commented in a voice full of irony. He had heard his mother use the saying before and Chelsea had also used it.  
  
"To answer your question, I'm sensitive to energy flows, but no, I don't have any talent to manipulate them. I did some good, old-fashioned bargaining in order to have someone who is very good at manipulating energy flows and the like, to do the warding, protection spells, on this room to set up a very good set of shields around the room," Jeanie answered, smoothing away smaller lactic acid bubbles from his left ankle and foot before moving up to work on the left calf muscle. The left leg wasn't nearly as tight as his right leg had been and so was much easier to get to relax. With a small nod of approval, Jeanie continued her work as Adam furthered relaxed under her touch.  
  
After a few quiet moments, Adam asked again, "I didn't know that being sensitive to 'energy flows' was a necessary requirement for a massage therapist."  
  
"It's not," Jeanie answered, running a soothing hand down his left leg. "But, it does tend to go hand in hand with being a massage therapist. The best ones normally are not only sensitive to the energy flows in the body, but also all around a person and know how to manipulate them in some form or another to their client's well-being." She covered up Adam's left leg and then moved up to his left shoulder area. "How is your back feeling now that those pillows have had a chance to loosen up those muscles?"  
  
"The heat seems to have helped. They're not quite as sore as they were starting to get before you put the pillows on," Adam answered.  
  
"Good," Jeanie answered. "I'm going to take them off as I get to those areas, but will work around them for the most part. I want to give those pillows more time to work."  
  
She removed the pillow she had draped over the left side of his back and said, "If you want and if you think it will help you relax, you can go ahead and hang your arms down on the side of the table."  
  
The imagery of it had Adam chuckling, "I'd end up looking like Cringer."  
  
"I take it he's a cat?" Jeanie answered, putting more lotion on her hands.  
  
"Yeah, but there are times I wonder if he's not somehow got some cross- breeding with a chicken somewhere along the line," Adam chuckled.  
  
Jeanie chuckled and then frowned in concentration as she encountered a sizeable knot. The heated pillows had probably lessened its intensity, but it was still pretty tight. It seemed again to be a tension knot. She ran her fingers down his back to see the extent of the knot, only to have him almost jump off the table. "I take it you're ticklish as well on your back?"  
  
"Yeah," Adam admitted, sounding somewhat surprised at his reaction. "Just don't let Teela or my mother know, or I'll never hear the end of it."  
  
"Teela, hmm?" Jeanie commented, using her whole hand to see how tight the tension knot was. "I take it she's someone special?"  
  
"Special, yeah, you could say that," Adam said around a hiss as she began to work on the knot.  
  
"Remember to breathe with me here, Adam," Jeanie said, pulling her hands off his back for the moment to briskly rub them together to add extra warmth to them again as she began to work on the knot. She laid her now warmed hands on the knot, sending extra warmth to it.  
  
Adam breathed in deeply and then held the breath for a moment before slowly releasing it as she slowly moved the heels of her hands down his back, working on easing the knot. The heat from her hands was amazing, it seemed to sink right into the muscle and get the knot to release.  
  
"Good," Jeanie commented softly in approval, moving back up his back to do another deep stroke down to continue the release of his shoulders.  
  
She worked his shoulders; she worked his arms, his hands, his fingers. Almost everything was manipulated, rubbed or soothed. The more she worked, the less Adam had the energy to 'help' her as she worked.  
  
The session seemed to last longer than Adam thought, giving him a real out of time feeling. Jeanie also found spots he didn't even realize were knotted and managed to work them loose. He almost felt like he had fought the longest fight ever with Skeletor, he was so tired, but without any of the pain that would normally accompany such a fight.  
  
Seeing how her client floated in that stage between sleep and wakefulness, Jeanie knew she had done her job. She did a brisk sweep down Adam's body to draw out the last of the negative energy and brushed her hands to dispel it. She put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Be sure to take your time getting up. You might be dizzy when you sit up from all the work we did."  
  
Adam made a small noise of agreement, slowly drifting back towards full wakefulness.  
  
Jeanie smiled and said, "I'll leave you to get dressed. I'll be right outside the door doing my paperwork and I'll have a bottle of water for you."  
  
She slipped out the door, barely letting the noise of the salon in before the door was shut again, cutting off the noise from outside once more.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Chelsea knew it would be a long night and since Adora was resting somewhat comfortably for the moment, she decided to a quick meditation session to keep her energy levels up. She set her cell phone to vibrate after setting the alarm on it and stretched out on the second bed. Within moments, she was deep in her meditation.  
  
The half hour passed and Chelsea focused her renewed energy on Adora, working on keeping her fever down and the fluids flowing. The afternoon wore on and Adora's temperature continued to rise until she was delirious and combative. It became a constant battle for Chelsea to keep her hydrated and calm. Adora was sometimes afraid of Chelsea, seeing something else in her place and would try to get out of bed. Chelsea barely managed to avoid being hit by a wildly swinging arm and then had to use less than gentle pressure to keep Adora in bed and her weight off her damaged knee when she was determined to stand up. Chelsea had won that round when Adora again got caught up in a coughing jag.  
  
Chelsea was seriously starting to wonder about her ability to handle Adora when the phone rang. Out of breath, she grabbed it and was shocked to hear her grandmother's voice.  
  
"Chelsea, dear, you're broadcasting all over the map - what's wrong?" before she could even say hello.  
  
"Grandma C -" Chelsea began and found herself telling her grandmother the whole story.  
  
Her grandmother asked for details on Adora's symptoms and what Chelsea and her mentor had talked about for a course of treatment. After thoroughly grilling her, her grandmother gave her seal of approval, "You're on the right track, Chels." She continued in a sure voice to tell Chelsea that Adora's fever would break that night.  
  
Hearing that gave Chelsea a renewed sense of purpose and she hung up the phone to return to her patient. She continued to wipe down Adora's face and neck with the cool washcloth. If anything, the vaporizer with the eucalyptus oil seemed to be helping her breathe easier. Chelsea didn't want to think about how bad it could be without the vaporizer keeping air in the room from becoming too dry. Dry air wasn't conducive to bronchitis.  
  
The coughing fit over, Adora had a brief moment of lucidity and thanked Chelsea for her help before her eyes slid closed again and her ragged breathing evened out as she slipped back into unconsciousness. Chelsea lowered her to rest back against the pile of pillows once more.  
  
Late in the evening, Chelsea had only left Adora's side long enough to cook up a quick supper of thick soup for her and a chicken noodle broth for Adora. She had managed to get most of the broth into Adora before her fever spiked again and she turned combative once more. She fought against Chelsea's attempts to keep her face cool like a reluctant child at first and then, as her fevered dreams began to take on threatening shapes; fighting like the trained warrior she was, her fear giving her added strength.  
  
Chelsea wasn't quite quick enough to avoid one swipe that was aimed at her head and managed to deflect it at the last moment by throwing up an arm. She winced and knew she would have a bruise come morning. "Come on Adora, don't fight me. You know I'm not here to hurt you."  
  
"No, I won't." Adora mumbled; her fair face was quite flushed from the fever. "I don't."  
  
"Shhh," Chelsea comforted, continuing her slow, soothing stroking with the washcloth. She checked her watch and saw it was time to try to get more medicine in Adora to try and break her fever. She set the washcloth down and picked up the first bottle of medicine. It was indeed turning out to be a long night.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
On the other side of Summit County, Marlena again sat curled up on the couch, her book lying forgotten in her lap as she watched Adam pace the length of the living room.  
  
He had a pinched look to his face as he paced with hunched shoulders; pausing occasionally to look, but not see, out at the dark landscape.  
  
"What's wrong, Adam?" she asked after his fifth trip back across the room.  
  
"It's Adora. I can feel her again," Adam answered, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck.  
  
Marlena raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue.  
  
"After I first found Adora and she broke Shadoweaver's spell, I would often get glimpses of her thoughts and/or emotions."  
  
"Not surprising, you are twins after all and there's been a tremendous amount of research here on Earth about the 'twin bond,'" Marlena commented, still amazed that with no history of twins in either her or Randor's family history, she had had these two special children.  
  
"It's more than just vague hints, I'd actually feel what she was feeling," Adam resumed his pacing.  
  
Marlena nodded in acceptance and waited for him to continue.  
  
"Then, with help from the Sorceress, we learned to close the link down so it was just an awareness of the other for the most part."  
  
"Except when one or the other of you was in real trouble?" Marlena questioned wisely.  
  
Adam stopped his pacing and gave his mother a look of total surprise at her understanding.  
  
"Like I said, Adam, there has been a tremendous amount of research about the link between twins - it's much stronger in identical twins than fraternal twins."  
  
Adam was so used to thinking about her as 'mother' or 'Queen Marlena' that he had forgotten she had had a life before assuming either of those roles.  
  
"Adam, she said with a small smile, "To be an astronaut like I was, you have to be more than a skilled pilot and that's what I was - more scientist/researcher."  
  
He stared at her, seeing her in a different light for perhaps the first time..  
  
Marlena wave a hand and dismissed the subject. "But, this isn't the time or place to talk about my past. You were telling me about your link with Adora."  
  
Adam blinked in surprise again, once more caught off guard by her fast change. He found himself continually being caught off guard by her perception and insights. "Through a bit of trial and error, we did manage to narrow it down to a 'danger sense' where the other was concerned."  
  
"Right, and then the other night.?"  
  
"I knew she was in trouble, but the link was gone," Adam resumed his pacing, his hand once more rubbing at the back of his neck.  
  
"Gone?"  
  
"All I could feel was a blank spot. I could get nothing from her," Adam shook his head trying to find the words to describe the awful feeling of emptiness he had felt on awakening. It was like a black wall had been put up between them that was smooth and unbreachable. He had known something was wrong, but that wall had kept him from finding out anything.  
  
"Not necessarily a blank spot, but a black hole - where everything gets sucked in and doesn't come out again?" Marlena used that analogy since it seemed to fit what he was telling her.  
  
"Sort of, yeah," Adam agreed.  
  
"And now?" she questioned, watching him pace. There was so much of Randor in him and observing closely the way her son walked all but confirmed her suspicions on another matter.  
  
"It's open and I'm getting flooded."  
  
"By what? Emotions? Images?"  
  
"Emotions. Or, I should say, emotion, singular," Adam answered, spinning on his heel to look out the window.  
  
"Just one emotion? Are there any image associations to go along with this?"  
  
Adam shook his head, "All I get is fear. Great, overwhelming fear and a heaviness in my chest like I can't breathe."  
  
Marlena's eyes narrowed Adam was now too close and needed to put some distance between himself and Adora. "Remember what you said earlier about your link earlier, Adam? Remember how you said you two worked to close it down so you weren't invading the other's thoughts all the time? Well, that's what you need to do here. I need you with me, not lost in what is probably Adora's fever induced nightmares."  
  
Adam took a deep breath, closed his eyes and made the obvious effort to narrow down the link. When he opened his eyes, he turned to face her with a chagrined expression on his face. "Sorry, I forgot I had left the link wide open on my end."  
  
"If there's one thing we must do, it's keep a cool head," Marlena remarked, pushing back her own rising fears. She thought for a moment, analyzing what Adam had told her. "Chelsea said that Adora was starting to run a high fever and that must be what has opened the link back up for the moment."  
  
Adam accepted that with a small nod, able to think more clearly now that he wasn't being bombarded by Adora's emotions. It also occurred to him that his mother was just as worried about Adora, if not more so, but was doing a better job at seeing past it.  
  
Marlena continued on with her questions, "Now, is there something specific Adora is afraid of that could be causing this?"  
  
Adam shook his head. Adora didn't have any real 'fears' that he knew of. But then he had to admit, there was still a lot he didn't know about his sister. It seemed like every time they got together, they were either fighting the Horde or dealing with one of Skeletor's plots. He had a general idea of her likes and dislikes, but her real fears? He didn't really know.  
  
Marlena seemed to know his thoughts and tried to comfort him, "She will be all right, Adam. We must keep believing that. Adora couldn't have been found by someone more capable of helping her than Chelsea."  
  
Adam nodded, knowing it was true, but having a hard time keeping the barrier in place between Adora's fears and his own. .  
  
Marlena got up off the couch and wrapped her arms around her son, and said, "I know you don't quite believe me, Adam, but I have a pretty good feeling that I'm right on this one."  
  
Adam didn't answer her, but kept looking out the window.  
  
"Don't wear yourself out worrying about something you can do nothing about right now, Adam. Tomorrow, once the slopes open, we're going to have our work cut out for us, looking for that 'item' Adora lost when she came through the portal."  
  
Adam made a noise at her word choice and emphasis on item. He certainly wasn't going .to tell her what Adora's sword meant.  
  
Marlena smiled and hugged Adam tight for a moment before letting go. Her son may have his secrets, but she had a pretty good idea what he thought he was protecting her from. She picked her book up off the couch and headed back to the master bedroom of the suite. If she wanted to get any reading done, she might as well go back to her bedroom, since Adam was likely to pace the living room for a while yet.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
The night wore on and Adora's temperature continued to resist Chelsea's efforts to bring it down. She would check Adora's temperature and it would drop a point or two, then the next time she checked it, it would spike even higher than before. Chelsea sighed in frustration and continued working on fighting the fever with cool washcloths, medicine and sheer determination. She had her hands full when Adora's temperature would spike, since Adora would become combative. She already had bruising on one arm from not being fast enough to dodge one blow and really did not want to get more bruises.  
  
Adora's fever finally broke around four am and Adora no longer was combative after her temperature lowered out of the danger zone. Once Adora was resting comfortably for the moment, Chelsea tiredly dragged her pillows upstairs from the living room after stirring the embers in the fireplace and putting a fresh log on the fire. She checked the vaporizer to ensure it had enough water and put in a new CD into the CD player before checking on Adora once more. Before she finally collapsed onto the other twin bed and falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillows. 


	8. Chapter 7 A Thousand Miles Can Lead So ...

***If you really want to read the silly disclaimer, go back to the Prologue - I am not going to post it all over again! :-p***  
  
* * * *  
  
Chapter VII  
  
* * * *  
  
The sun rose to reveal the damage the storm had left behind in the Colorado Mountains. The road crews had been out as soon as the winds had died down late in the night, working on clearing the roads. Fresh snow meant that the tourists and everyone in the area would be trying to get to the slopes. The residents began the task of shoveling out in order to get to work or just to escape from their homes, having a raging case of cabin fever.  
  
One entrepenuering young man waded through the snow with a snow blower and snow shovel on a sled behind him. He had a goal in mind and trudged his way up to Chelsea's front door to ring the doorbell. He had to ring it two more times before Chelsea finally stumbled to the door and opened it.  
  
"Hey Chelsea, you want me to do your sidewalk and driveway for you?" he asked as she blearily leaned against the open door.  
  
The cold morning air was helping her wake up, but her brain was slow to kick into gear. "Uhm, yeah, that'd be perfect. How much, Davey?"  
  
Davey promptly named a figure, "Sixty bucks."  
  
Chelsea nodded, too tired to bargain with him, "Fine. Gimme a sec to get the right checkbook and I'll give you a check. Okay?"  
  
"Perfect!" Davy grinned, obviously knowing he was getting the better end of the deal.  
  
Chelsea shut the door and stumbled into the kitchen. She found the checkbook designated for household expenses and filled out the check before stumbling back to the front door.  
  
"Here you go, Davey. Just be sure to clear the sidewalk really good. I have a friend with a bad knee that I have to get back to her family today," Chelsea said, handing him the check and rubbing a hand tiredly over her face.  
  
"Sure thing, Chels!" the young man answered.  
  
Chelsea gave him a tired smile and returned upstairs. Everything else, household wise, could wait until she'd had more sleep.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Back on Etheria, Seahawk once more at full strength was busily working alongside his crew in order to get the Solar Sailor II back in the water. They had been ahead of his schedule for getting the ship back in the water before the battle of Castle Blackmoore had gone so wrong and his crew was even more determined to get the ship back in the water as soon as possible.  
  
The routine sounds of the crew laboring was interrupted by the frantic shouts of a woman. Seahawk turned to see Madam Raz on Broom heading straight for him. He quickly moved so he was no longer in the direct flight path of Madam Raz and Broom.  
  
"To the left, Broom! No, no! To the right! Up, Broom! Pull up!" Madam Raz's confusing directions to Broom came as a clear warning to the villagers and anyone else out on the street to get clear. The pair came crashing down in the middle of the street and Madam Raz went tumbling head over heels off Broom, sending up clouds of dirt as she rolled. She came to a stop after four revolutions, dizzily sat up and put a hand to her head before commenting, "Oh, dearie my! We must work on these landings!"  
  
Seahawk was the first one to reach her side and helped her to her feet, "Are you all right, Madam Raz?"  
  
"Fine, fine," she answered, dusting herself off.  
  
"What brings you to Gailsbreath, Madam? Do you have any news about Adora?" he asked anxiously.  
  
"Oh dearie my, yes! Captain Seahawk, Queen Angela sent me to bring you to Castle Brightmoon right away! She found the world where Shadoweaver's spell sent Adora! She and Castaspella are waiting for you there," Madam Raz said all in a rush.  
  
"What?" Seahawk replied stunned, not quite sure what he was hearing. "You mean-"  
  
"Yes, yes. Now hop on. Broom can get us there in no time," she said before turning around and looking for Broom. "Broom, let's go! We've got to get back to Castle Brightmoon on the double!"  
  
"Right away, Madam," Broom answered as Madam Raz climbed on, followed by Seahawk who perched precariously behind her.  
  
Seahawk knew that he didn't have to worry about getting word to Swen; he would have seen Madam's arrival and known what it meant.  
  
Once Castle Brightmoon was in sight, Seahawk became alert and started looking for a way to safely get off Broom. Madam's landings were notoriously bad and he was in no mood to end up back in the Castle's sick room.  
  
Glimmer, on the lookout for Madam's return, saw them coming and quickly motioned for the guards to open the gates and doors to the castle. She hoped that Madam wouldn't break too many things, skulls included, when she landed in the main hall. When Madam Raz went flying by on Broom with Seahawk behind her, Glimmer crossed her fingers and rushed to the main hall as fast as she could.  
  
When they went flying into the main hall, Seahawk saw his chance to get off safely in the form of an overhanging banner. He reached up and grabbed it. He hung on until Madam had come to a complete stop before activating the boosters on his boots and dropping safely to the floor fifteen feet below. Seahawk walked over and once again, helped Madam to her feet as Princess Glimmer came rushing in.  
  
"Madam Raz, are you all right?" Glimmer asked concerned. The princess was almost an exact duplicate of her mother except for her shimmering pink hair and she did not have her mother's long, flowing white wings.  
  
"Oh dearie my, I just can't seem to get these landings right!" Madam Raz replied, tottering unsteadily on her feet.  
  
Seahawk hid a smile. Now, why did that seem so familiar? Hadn't he heard almost the exact same thing a short while back in Gailsbreath? He and Bow, the rebel archer/musician exchanged knowing looks. Madam never changes, Seahawk had learned shortly after joining the rebellion.  
  
"Oh! Captain Seahawk, please forgive my manners!" Glimmer exclaimed, as she truly noticed him. "My mother and Castaspella are waiting for you in the throne room. Let me show you the way."  
  
Seahawk just nodded and followed her, taking in the beauty of the castle as he went.  
  
Madam Raz stayed behind long enough to fix the suit of armor she had knocked over in her landing with a spell before she and Broom caught up to Seahawk and Glimmer.  
  
Upon entering the throne room, Seahawk was hard pressed not to gawk at the grandness of the throne room. He had been in the room maybe once or twice before and had never really paid much attention. He remembered himself and made a deep courtly bow to Queen Angela. He straightened up and barely contained his impatience until after Glimmer had announced him.  
  
"Mother, Castaspella, Captain Seahawk is here to see you," Glimmer said as Queen Angela handed back the report she had been looking at before they came in to the counselor who stood at her right.  
  
"Captain Seahawk," Queen Angela said warmly as she stood up.  
  
"Your Majesty, Madam Raz mentioned that you wished to see me? Something about finding where Shadoweaver's spell sent Adora?" Seahawk replied, trying not to let his hopes get too high. If only he could believe it.  
  
"Yes, Captain Seahawk, Castaspella and I located the world when Castaspella located a dimensional doorway that had been opened and led to a planet in a quadrant of space far from here. Your pendant, Captain Seahawk, led us right to the planet. The name of the planet is Earth," Queen Angela explained as she stepped down from the dais upon which her throne sat to hand Seahawk back his pendant.  
  
Seahawk quickly slipped the pendant back over his head as he was momentarily stunned by the good news. There was something about the planet that rang a bell. he snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "That's it!"  
  
Everyone turned to look at him, wondering what he meant.  
  
He hurriedly explained, "Earth - that's where Adora's mother is from! Adora told me some of the stories she heard from her mother."  
  
"That knowledge will most definitely be of use to you on your journey, Captain Seahawk," Castaspella said as Queen Angela began the work to open a portal for him to go after Adora. She stepped forward and gave him a charm to use to give them a signal that he was ready to return to Etheria. She went on to explain to him how the use the charm with the caution to be wary of letting its existence be known by any of the natives he might encounter.  
  
Everyone quickly wished him the best of luck and he thanked the two powerful sorceresses for their help before stepping through the portal.  
  
Once he was gone and the portal closed behind him, Queen Angela let out a barely audible sigh as she turned away from where the portal had been and tried to concentrate on the matters at hand. The biggest concern she had behind Adora's welfare was the increasing Horde activity seeming to center around the borders to Brightmoon. But, she told herself, short of going after Adora herself, she had done all she could for her at the moment and her kingdom needed her attention.  
  
Castaspella stood looking where the portal had been for a long minute after it had closed. She also had divided thoughts. Adora was a good friend and superb leader for the rebellion. With Adora gone and She-Ra unavailable, the Horde was making noise that they might try another full out invasion of Brightmoon. She wondered if she should return to her own kingdom of Mystacore in order to fortify her defenses, should the Horde make a move there. She knew if Brightmoon should fall, Mystacore would soon follow. Eventually she reasoned it would be better to stay in Brightmoon to help Angela when the Horde attack came.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Adam awoke to see the sun streaming through a nearly cloudless blue sky. He rolled over to see what the time was on the clock radio on the nightstand. He sat up in bed and rubbed his hands over his face in an effort to wake up. It had been late before he had finally fallen asleep, unable to put aside his worries about Adora and finding her sword. Still feeling a bit groggy, he climbed out of bed and made his way out to the living room. He was somewhat surprised to see his mother already there, dressed and savoring a cup of coffee as she reviewed the map he had triangulated Adora's point of entry with.  
  
Marlena looked at him over her mug and nodded in greeting. "What time did you finally fall asleep last night?"  
  
"Not sure. I paced for quite a while - I just couldn't relax," Adam admitted. He looked briefly out the window and saw that the ski lifts weren't moving just yet. "Have you heard on when the slopes will be opening yet?"  
  
"I asked when they brought up the coffee. They are done blasting the snow packs on the upper slopes and are almost finished grooming the slopes to even the snow out. The lifts should start running almost any second now."  
  
Once she said that, Adam glanced out the window to see the first of the lifts jerk into motion.  
  
"And, there they go," he commented, fighting off a yawn.  
  
Marlena poured a cup of coffee for Adam, added sugar and flavored creamer and handed it to him. "Here, you look like you need the sugar and caffeine boost."  
  
Adam took the mug and blew on it for a moment before taking a cautious sip. The taste was surprisingly good with the creamer and sugar added. "Is there anything else we need before we head out to go skiing?"  
  
Marlena thought for a moment before answering, "We need to pick up our skis, boots and poles from the ski pro shop and catch a shuttle bus over to Copper Mountain. I think we have everything else we will need, including sunblock."  
  
Adam took another sip of the coffee and tried to dispel the lingering sense of unease he felt. So far things had been going smoothly, even with Adora being ill, and he felt like the other shoe was going to drop soon. He rubbed a hand tiredly along the back of his neck and felt the caffeine kick slowly helping his brain engage. He wouldn't tell his mother about his unease yet, since he couldn't tell if it was just the lack of sleep making him feel this way or something else.  
  
"Why don't you finish your coffee and grab a shower, Adam? You look like you could use a good shave - you're starting to look a bit scruffy." Marlena said with a smile before taking another drink from her coffee.  
  
Adam rubbed his hand along his cheek and realized his mother was right. He had hair sticking up and knew that the bags under his eyes contributed to his mother's comments. "That sounds like a good idea. Hopefully that will help me finish waking up here. I'm anxious to go out and try 'regular' skiing today."  
  
"Breakfast should be here when you get out of the shower. I ordered up room service right you came out here," Marlena said by way of dismissal.  
  
"Thanks. That should save us some time and let us get out to Copper Mountain sooner," Adam answered and stood up, still holding onto the coffee mug.  
  
"You're welcome. That's what mothers are for," Marlena answered, a small smile playing about her mouth.  
  
Adam wondered what her thoughts were as he headed back to his bedroom. He again got the feeling that his mother had a pretty damn good idea he was He- Man, if she wasn't already sure of it. After another moment's reflection, he pushed it aside, since he couldn't think clearly enough yet to figure out what all she had left unsaid. Besides, he still had this nagging feeling that something was still going to go wrong and that bothered him.  
  
When he returned to the living room a short time later freshly showered, shaved and feeling a whole lot more alert, he saw his mother signing off on the tab for the cart that had been wheeled into the suite. She gave the server a gracious smile and a generous tip as she escorted the young woman back to the door, closing and locking it behind her. His stomach growled as Marlena lifted the covers off the first dish.  
  
"Just in time, Adam," she said handing him a plate before taking the lid off another smaller platter revealing fresh toast and bacon.  
  
"You look like you ordered enough food," Adam commented, taking the plate.  
  
"We need the calories. Skiing is not as easy as it may seem. It takes a finite amount of control in order to turn and not run into anyone or anything," Marlena answered, filling her plate up with food.  
  
"Did you talk to Chelsea yet?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, I got off the phone with her right as you got out of the shower. She sounded quite worn out."  
  
"How's Adora?"  
  
"Resting somewhat comfortably. Her fever didn't break until early this morning. Chelsea stayed up all night with her."  
  
Adam felt relief that Adora's fever had broken, but sorry that Chelsea had had to stay up all night. "Did she say when/how we're supposed to meet up with her and Adora?"  
  
"We agreed to meet here at the resort around five pm. That should give us plenty of time to search Copper Mountain today to find what Adora lost when she came through the portal," Marlena answered, pouring herself a glass of orange juice. She gave Adam an oblique glance that told him nothing, but left him wondering again, just what she left unsaid.  
  
He filled his plate and pretended not to see the look she gave him. Where it concerned his mother, he never knew where he stood. She seemed to just see right through him at times.  
  
Over breakfast, Marlena described to him the history of Colorado as first a mining territory, then petroleum and natural gas drilling with the advent of mass transportation in the twentieth century and finally its evolution as a tourist state for the outdoor enthusiasts.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
The sound of the blower motor didn't penetrate Chelsea's slumber, but the sound of Adora having another coughing jag did and immediately she was at Adora's side, helping her sit up and pouring more cough medicine down her throat followed up by another coating of Vick's vaporub on her throat and chest. Once Adora had quit coughing and managed to catch her breath again, Chelsea sat back and looked at the time. It was close to eleven am now and she figured that Davey should almost be done with the driveway once he was able to get the slowblower working on it. If they were going to make the rendezvous with Adam and Marlena today, they were going to have to get moving. It would take time to get over to Breckenridge, even with the main roads mostly being cleared by that afternoon.  
  
"Do you feel like eating some solid food today?" Chelsea asked, brushing a hand against Adora's forehead to reassure herself that her fever hadn't returned.  
  
Adora's stomach answered for her with a loud grumbling.  
  
Chelsea laughed, "I take that as a yes, then. I'll go whip up a couple omelettes and all the trappings for us to eat."  
  
"Yes, solid food does sound good," Adora answered, fighting back a blush.  
  
"How's your head this morning?" Chelsea asked, satisfied that Adora's fever seemed to truly be gone.  
  
"Still throbbing, but I can at least see today without feeling like I'm going to be sick right away," Adora answered, accepting Chelsea's help to sit up against the pillows she proper up against the headboard.  
  
"That's a definite improvement," Chelsea said with a nod, "and now that your fever has truly broken, I can give you a full massage to work out the kinks and to ease your headache."  
  
"If it will help the throbbing of my head, I'm all for it," Adora answered with a small smile.  
  
"That I can help with. Just let me get some food whipped up for us and then I'll do the body work," Chelsea said, getting to her feet. "I'll just bring a tray up here, since it will be easier than trying to get you downstairs to eat only to help you back up the steps to take a shower."  
  
Adora nodded in reluctant agreement. She wouldn't have minded getting out of the bed, but it seemed too daunting a task to try and hobble downstairs and then back up again.  
  
Chelsea smiled and left the room, hitting play on the CD player on her way out of the room, filling the room again with swirling Celtic melodies, leaving Adora to her thoughts. In the kitchen, she set to work, quickly and efficiently putting together breakfast for the two of them, enjoying the sunshine even though she knew it was bone cold outside. Once breakfast was ready, she loaded everything onto a bed tray and carried it back upstairs.  
  
Adora was resting with her head against the pillows plumped up behind her and her eyes were closed. She smiled as she smelled the food and heard Chelsea's return.  
  
"That actually smells good," she commented, opening her eyes to see Chelsea enter in the room with the full tray.  
  
"Of course it is," Chelsea answered with a grin. "It's the one thing I can do really good every time - super cheesy scrambled eggs." She placed the tray on the other bed and helped Adora fully sit up, making sure to provide support to the injured right knee. Even so, Adora couldn't quite manage to keep back a small hiss of pain as the knee protested the movement. Chelsea said, "I've got plans for that today after breakfast and you get your bath."  
  
Adora looked up as Chelsea placed the tray over her lap. "What are your plans?"  
  
"Breakfast, then you get a nice, hot bath today to soak away some of your aches from being bedridden for the better part of two days, then you get a full body massage and acupuncture treatment to help steady up your knee. Then, we load you up into my grandmother's four-wheel drive and take you back to your mother and brother over at Breckenridge."  
  
"Sounds like a full day," Adora commented as Chelsea picked up a plate and settled herself on the opposite twin bed.  
  
"It will be, but when it's all said and done, you will be safely back with your family, and I will be getting the place ready for my friends' invasion this weekend." Chelsea answered before taking a bite of her breakfast.  
  
Adora followed Chelsea's example and took a bite of the eggs. Her eyes widened at the burst of flavor from the eggs, the cheese and the seasoning Chelsea had added in. She cleaned the plate in short order and drank down the juice and tea that was left on the tray for her.  
  
Chelsea finished her breakfast and took the tray back downstairs to deal with the dishes while Adora soaked in the bathtub. She bounded back up the stairs and got the water running in the oversized whirlpool tub. She helped Adora down the hall to the tub, taking note that while Adora was still easily winded and really couldn't support weight on the bad knee, Adora was showing definite signs of improvement. She gave Adora her choice of bath scents and left her to soak while she prepped the massage room downstairs to work on her there. She finished the dishes, took a quick shower and got dressed before going to check on Adora.  
  
"Knock knock!" she called out to be heard over the noise of the whirlpool jets. She opened the door to see Adora chin deep in the frothing water, clearly enjoying the heat and the jets. "I have everything set up downstairs, almost. Are you about ready to get out?"  
  
"Yes, if you could help me wash my hair. I don't think I can do it on my own yet," Adora answered.  
  
"All right. I'll be back in five minutes," Chelsea replied. "I have to put my hair up in a braid and get some fresh clothes out for you to wear."  
  
"That sounds fine," Adora agreed and leaned back against the bath pillow, letting the water flow over her once more.  
  
Chelsea smiled and closed the door behind her. She had a few more things to do and she had a schedule to keep today.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
After breakfast, Adam and Marlena picked up their equipment and joined the crowd in the lobby awaiting the busses that would take them to the various ski slopes in the region. They joined the crowd for the one labeled Keystone and Copper Mountains, finding a place to put their skis then found a pair of seats. They looked like everyone else, except for the Sword of Power on Adam's back. The sword made itself invisible or simply not there to everyone who looked for it  
  
"Do you know where we should start looking first for what Adora dropped when we get there?" Marlena asked, just loud enough for Adam to hear her over the noise of the bus and everyone talking around them.  
  
"No. There are just too many factors with the weather and then the blasting of the slopes to stabilize the snow pack to narrow it down beyond Copper Mountain," Adam answered his mother. He deliberately left out the fact that the Sorceress had told him that his Sword would lead them to Adora's Sword. Despite them being that much closer to going home, he still had this nagging feeling that something was going to go wrong.  
  
Before he could mention his worries to his mother, the bus came to a stop and deposited almost half the passengers at Keystone Mountain. There was just too much noise and jostling as people got off the bus and took their skis with them. Once the bus was in motion again, Marlena turned back to him. "I hear a 'but' in your voice. What else aren't you telling me, Adam?"  
  
Adam sighed and glanced over at his mother. She was definitely too insightful for her own good. "I have a way to look for Adora's Sword. The Sorceress told me before we left Grayskull."  
  
Marlena nodded and continued, "But, that's not all is it? Something else is bothering you."  
  
"Just a nagging feeling. Nothing concrete," Adam tried to shrug it off.  
  
"Is it from Adora?" Marlena asked.  
  
"No," Adam said with a shake of his head. "From what I can gather, she's perfectly fine, if still tired."  
  
A small smile played about her lips as she answered, "Just being around Chelsea can do that." She filed away Adam's doubts until they were in a place where they could talk about it more openly.  
  
It took about another thirty minutes, but the bus finally made it to the drop off point at Copper Mountain. The driver gave the spiel about pick up times as he pulled up to the spot behind another bus dropping off its passengers. With everyone else, mother and son gathered up their skis and trudged up the snow packed pathways to the ski lifts. They were ahead of most of the crowd, having purchased their lift passes before leaving Breckenridge.  
  
"No matter how coordinated you are, getting on and off a ski lift is a bit of a trick," Marlena said with a bit of a wry smile.  
  
Adam detected a bit of a challenge in her voice and smiled. She certainly was daring him not to play the role of the bumbling prince.  
  
"Are you ready?" she asked him with a raised brow.  
  
"After you, Your Majesty," Adam grinned and made a sweeping bow.  
  
Marlena regally inclined her head and moved forward. She waited for Adam to reach her side again before pointing out a good spot to snap into their skis before heading for the lifts.  
  
They cued up behind the throngs eagerly awaiting their turn to get on the lift to ride to the top of the mountain.  
  
"We'll start with the green runs on one side and work our way up from there to make sure we cover the whole mountain," Marlena said. "But we'll have to be cautious on the green slopes here. They are more like the blue/intermediate slopes and the blue slopes are more like the green slopes."  
  
"Right," Adam said, keeping an eye on the skiers loading up on the lift. It didn't look too hard to get on the lift, just a bit of coordination and timing. They really didn't like to stop the lift for anyone. The whole idea seemed to be to get on as quickly and smoothly as possible.  
  
Finally, it was their turn to get on. Adam put his ski poles in his left hand and grasped the center pole of the lift with his right hand. Marlena did the opposite, her ski poles in her right hand and her left grabbed the center pole as the seat scooped them up to carry them up the mountain.  
  
Marlena gave Adam a sideways look, "You handled that rather well."  
  
"It was all a matter of coordination and timing," he said with a shrug.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
True to her word, Chelsea had given Adora a full body massage and an acupuncture treatment both of which helped to alleviate the headache and the searing pain in her damaged right knee. Chelsea bustled about, cleaning up as she went. She bundled up at one point while Adora was resting with the acupuncture needles and carried the snowmobile helmets back to their shelf in the garage. She waved to Davey on the way back as he was now working on clearing a driveway across the street. After removing the needles, she helped Adora get dressed and produced a solid knee brace for Adora to wear over the pants she'd found for her to wear. She opened the straps up as far as they would go and carefully slid the brace in place before pulling the Velcro straps snug.  
  
Adora hissed when the straps were tightened, "Ow, ow, ow."  
  
"I know, and I apologize, but this is the last bit of torture I am going to put you through, I promise," Chelsea apologized. "I know what it's like to have a bad knee and I promise. No more torture. All we have to do now is get you loaded up in the car and taken back to your family."  
  
"You make it sound so." Adora trailed off looking for the right word.  
  
"Ordinary?" Chelsea supplied.  
  
"Yeah, I guess that's a good word," Adora answered.  
  
Chelsea gave a small laugh, "Adora, this is the normal end of things. Your homeworlds are very much out of the ordinary for me."  
  
The knee brace in place, Chelsea helped Adora make her way to the recliner to rest while she got the car out of the garage and brought it to the end of the sidewalk on the driveway to warm up before heading out.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Back at Copper Mountain, Adam and Marlena were most thorough in their search of the mountain. To keep from arousing too much suspicion from both his mother and everyone around them, he would occasionally ski 'out of control' towards the nearest clump of trees in order to pull out the Sword of Power and check how close they were getting to the Sword of Protection. The sword had a continuous faint glow to it anytime he pulled it out, but would give a tug in the direction that it wanted them to head.  
  
They took a break only to grab a quick sandwich and hot chocolate at the lodge at the top of the mountain, thawing out before going back out and starting to tackle the harder slopes. It was after one such incident of Adam's 'loss of control' when he came trekking back out carrying his skies that he noticed his mother staring at him with narrowed eyes. She really wasn't buying the klutz act. He immediately became chagrined and felt like a small child again in the face of her 'see-all' gaze.  
  
"So, are we getting closer?" she questioned him.  
  
"Yes. We need to keep heading this way," Adam answered.  
  
"Good. If we're going to be back in time to meet up with Chelsea, then we need to find Adora's 'lost item' soon," Marlena answered.  
  
"Believe me, I'm well aware of the time, Mother," Adam answered, snapping back onto his skis. His voice had a bite to it and he shoved off before he could snap at her further.  
  
Marlena shoved off after him, a secret smile playing about her mouth. Adam, lazy and clumsy? She didn't think so. A mother knew her children and she certainly was getting a much clearer picture of her son on this journey they were on.  
  
It wasn't but twenty minutes later as they were heading back down the mountain on a different run that Adam felt the sword on his back give a violent tug. He swooshed to a stop and Marlena pulled up beside him.  
  
"What is it?" she questioned.  
  
"This way. We're almost on top of it," he said, shoving off towards a clump of trees near a different ski lift heading up the mountain that they hadn't ridden yet.  
  
Adam let the urgings of the Sword of Power lead him to the base of one of the support poles for the lift. He knew they were on top of the Sword of Protection at that point. He snapped out of his skis as Marlena pulled up behind him and knelt down in the snow. He began brushing the snow aside and when he got to about a foot down, he unearthed a bit of the blade. Marlena knelt down next to him and helped him free the sword from the snow. Once freed of the snow, Adam gave it a quick inspection to see that it hadn't been damaged.  
  
"This is it," Marlena sighed caught between relief and exhilaration at the sight of the sword in Adam's hands.  
  
"Yes, and it's undamaged, thank the ancients," Adam answered, slipping the sword down his back between the scabbard and his sweater.  
  
Marlena watched him slide the sword down his back in a practiced move that so reminded her of someone else. No matter his denials, his body language all but confirmed it to her. She stood up and brushed the snow off her snow pants and moved back to her skis. She snapped back into them as Adam snapped back into his.  
  
"Let's head back to meet up with Chelsea and Adora now," he said decisively.  
  
"Fine by me. We have what we were sent to find and I want to see my baby girl for myself," Marlena replied. She pushed off and came to a stop a few feet down slope from him, "Are you coming?"  
  
"Of course," he answered with a grin.  
  
From there, the two raced down slope, neck and neck with each other, Adam handling himself with ease on the skis. Marlena had to work to keep up with him, not having gotten as much physical exercise in recent years.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Seeing the time, Chelsea helped Adora into more layers for the cold outside. She was extra careful in working the leg of the ski pants up and over the cumbersome knee brace. She added a warm ski jacket on top of that followed by scarf, hat and gloves. She put the boots on almost last, wanting to avoid jarring the bad knee for as long as possible. Finally putting on her own layers as quick as possible, she helped Adora to her feet and out the door to the waiting car.  
  
After helping Adora up into her seat, she waved to Davey across the street again and called out, "I'm heading over to Breckenridge. I'll be back in a while!"  
  
She got an acknowledging wave out of Davey before he turned his snow blower to head away from her. Quickly bustling round to her side of the car, Chelsea hopped up into her seat and made sure they both had their seatbelts on before putting the car into four wheel drive and heading up the road and away from the lake. She turned on the radio to get a traffic report, hoping to avoid getting caught up in any accidents around the resorts. A frown found its way to her face as she heard the report talk about a nasty one on one of the major roads in Lake Dillon. It was in the middle of her most direct path to Breckenridge.  
  
"So much for taking the easy way," Chelsea talked back to the radio.  
  
"What?" Adora questioned.  
  
"Don't worry about it. I'm just talking back to the radio. I do it all the time," Chelsea replied. "We just have to take an alternate route to the resort now."  
  
"Will that make us late?" Adora asked, resting her head back against the headrest. Her headache was starting to come back in force and watching Chelsea bustle around was draining and she didn't do anything except sit there!  
  
"Nope, I kinda figured on something like this and plotted time wise to use the back way in," Chelsea answered, adjusting the sun visor to cut the glare of the snow.  
  
They wound their way along lesser used mountain roads that hadn't been touched by snowplows and Chelsea had the car in four wheel drive to provide extra traction on the snow, all too aware that there was ice underneath all that snow.  
  
Adora fell into a light doze as Chelsea drove humming along to a strange variety of music.  
  
After a few minutes of not seeing anyone, another vehicle approached and suddenly all of Chelsea's instincts went on high alert. Something was wrong, really, really wrong. She reached out and put a hand on Adora's arm, "Adora, wake up."  
  
Adora was awake in an instant, her warrior training coming to the fore. She looked at the other vehicle that was traveling at too high rate of speed. "Look out!" she cried.  
  
Chelsea tried to react, but a front tire hit an ice patch under all the snow and lost traction. She gunned the car, hoping the studded tires would find a grip. She pulled hard on the wheel to try and avoid the on-coming car, but it was too late.  
  
The other 4-wheel drive truck slammed into the driver's side of Chelsea's vehicle. The force of the impact sent them rolling sideways off the side of the road, finally coming to rest on the driver's side.  
  
Adora had her arms braced against the dashboard and didn't hit the windshield, but she slammed her head against the window as the car rolled and lost consciousness. The full impact was on Chelsea's side. She heard nothing beyond a tearing impact and a moment of such intense pain before she was swallowed in black.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Seahawk stepped through the portal to Earth and had to shield his eyes from the snow glare, the sun was just so bright reflecting off the snow. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust to allow him to look around and see that he was in a village of some sorts. No, he corrected himself. It wasn't a village, but a neighborhood. From all the activity, he could only surmise that the area had had a good deal of snow quite recently. He floundered his way out of the snow bank to the street, which was somewhat clear and headed towards an adolescent boy using a strange machine to clear the snow. He figured the boy would be as good a place to start as any to ask about Adora.  
  
At first the boy didn't understand Seahawk because of the almost deafening noise of the machine he was using. He killed the power and removed his earplugs while Seahawk shouted for a moment longer to be heard before realizing the noise had stopped.  
  
"What can I do for you, Mister?" was the boy's question.  
  
"I'm wondering if you might have seen my fiancée? I was led to believe she might be in this area," Seahawk said, starting over again. "She's about this tall -" He held his hand up to his eyes, "She's got blue eyes and she's probably injured."  
  
The boy looked doubtful for a minute, pondering whether or not to believe this man with the strange accent. Something in Seahawk's plea spoke to him and he said, "Yeah, I think maybe I did see your lady, Mister."  
  
"You did? Where? How long ago? Is she still here?" Seahawk fired off rapidly.  
  
"I saw Chelsea helping an injured lady into her car about a half hour ago. She matches the height description on your lady and I think she had blonde hair. Kinda hard to tell, as bundled up as she was," was the answer.  
  
"They left?" Seahawk felt a moment of crushing defeat.  
  
"Yeah, like I said - just about a half hour ago."  
  
"Did they say where they were going?" he questioned next, trying to figure out how to catch up to them. He didn't have any transportation.  
  
"Chelsea said something about heading over to Breckenridge," was the answer.  
  
"Breckenridge? What's that? How do I get there from here?" were his next rapid fire questions.  
  
"You're not from around here, are you?" the boy questioned.  
  
"No, I'm not," was the curt answer.  
  
"Breckenridge is a ski resort about fifteen miles from here as the roads go, but it's about ten as the crow flies, or snowmobile as the case may be," the boy answered, a calculating gleam coming into his eyes. "Come on. I'll show you how to catch up to Chelsea. Granted, she'll probably kill me, but I think that you can reason out borrowing one of her grandfather's snowmobiles without permission first with her when you catch up to them."  
  
The boy led him across the street and to a covered lean-to to a pair of tarp covered machines. He looked in surprise at the lack of snow on one tarp. "Huh, I wonder when Chelsea had this one out? Certainly not during the storm. she's not that crazy."  
  
"Chelsea, who?"  
  
"Chelsea Connell - this is her grandparents' place. She is the coolest babysitter - she plays computer games with you, " Davey raved. He took the tarp off the machine and tossed it into the empty garage. He turned and grabbed the ignition key for the machine and a helmet off the shelf next to the door.  
  
"How do you work this - snowmobile?" Seahawk questioned.  
  
"It's easy - like riding a bike," Davey said with a shrug of his shoulders.  
  
Not sure how to explain that he didn't know what the boy was talking about, Seahawk kept quiet for a moment as Davey proceeded to show him how to operate the snowmobile.  
  
"Here- this is your ignition. You turn the engine on with this key here," Davey got the engine to turn over, then it choked, sputtered and died as he tried to throttle it up. He turned the key again and this time the engine caught and roared to life. "Here - this is your throttle and this is your brake." He handed Seahawk the helmet he grabbed and said, "Wear the helmet. It will give you better shielding from the wind and sun, not to mention protect your head."  
  
"Yes, of course," Seahawk said sitting down on the snowmobile.  
  
"Now, you know how to get there from here?"  
  
"Not really, no," Seahawk admitted.  
  
"Okay then, knowing Chels, she took the back roads over there," Davey thought for a moment. "Lemme think." he paused again before carefully going over which roads to take with Seahawk and giving him a good description of the vehicle Chelsea was driving.  
  
Grateful for his good memory, Seahawk committed the directions to memory. He nodded his thanks to Davey and got on the snowmobile.  
  
"Just in case Chels comes back before you catch up with her, what should I tell her?"  
  
"Tell her Seahawk is here for Adora," he answered. "Thanks -"  
  
"Davey, Davey Simpkins," was the prompt answer.  
  
"Well, thanks again, Davey. I really need to see my fiancée," Seahawk said with a nod.  
  
Davey shrugged and watched him take off on the snowmobile before going back across the street to finish the driveway he was working on. He figured he could probably get one more in before sunset.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Nothing moved on the accident scene for several minutes beyond the hissing of the one vehicle's spitting of all its vital fluids on the snow like a mortal wound. In Chelsea's car, Adora was the first one to awaken. Realizing that the only reason she was still in her seat was because of her seatbelt since the car was laying on the driver's side, she checked herself over for new injuries and found that except for giving herself a bigger knot on the head, she wasn't in any worse shape than before that she could feel.  
  
It occurred to Adora that she hadn't heard anything from Chelsea. Concerned, she looked over to Chelsea. She was deathly white with a bloody cut up in her hairline that was trickling down the left side of her face. Adora reached out a hand and shook Chelsea's shoulder, trying to awaken her.  
  
"Chelsea!" Adora called urgently. "Come on, you've got to wake up!"  
  
She groaned and her right hand fluttered slightly before falling back to her side.  
  
"Chelsea, can you hear me?" she tried again.  
  
Another groan and slight fluttering of her hand, then her eyes opened for a moment before sliding shut again. She hissed as she tried to shift her weight. Her eyes were glazed as they opened this time.  
  
"Chelsea, are you hurt?" Adora asked, the adrenaline making her clear headed. There would be time for her to collapse later on, but right now, it was Chelsea who was in need.  
  
Chelsea tried again to shift her weight and hissed loudly. She didn't have the muscle control to lift her head off her shoulder. "Hurt."  
  
"Yes, you're hurt. Where else besides your head, Chelsea?"  
  
"Can't breathe. chest hurts," was the slow answer.  
  
Adora put a hand back on Chelsea's shoulder as she tried to move again. "Don't move, Chelsea. Just stay still and talk to me here. Do you hurt anywhere else?"  
  
"Left.side.fire.shooting," Chelsea got out in painful pants.  
  
Adora took that to mean that her left side felt like she had fire shooting down it. It sounded bad and left her with the feeling that it was imperative for her to find help shortly. She cast a look about the car for something to keep Chelsea warm. She just knew that she had to do that. She found some blankets that had been in a box in the back of the car now lying against the window in the passenger's seat on the driver's side. Try as she might, she couldn't reach them from her seat. Moving slowly and carefully, she unhooked her seatbelt in order to reach into the back for them.  
  
Chelsea's head rolled on her shoulders once more and she appeared to loose consciousness again.  
  
"Chelsea, stay with me here. I don't know how to get help for us," Adora said, getting a hold of the blankets and pulling them forward with her as she eased back into her seat.  
  
"Cell phone.?" was the answer Chelsea gave. She was trying to focus for Adora.  
  
"Cell phone?" Adora asked, puzzled.  
  
"In...backpack," Chelsea whispered. It was so difficult for her to breathe, let alone talk.  
  
Adora looked for Chelsea's backpack and saw that it was now in the front seat, under Chelsea's left leg next to the door. This was not going to be fun for either of them. "Chelsea, your backpack is under your left leg."  
  
"Damn," Chelsea exhaled slowly.  
  
"Tell me about it," Adora replied with a wry twist to her lips. This was going to hurt her just as much as Chelsea if she wasn't careful of her right knee. She braced herself with her left leg and draped her upper body over the center console to extract the backpack from where it had landed. By the time she had managed to get the backpack out, Chelsea had tears of pain running down her face. Adora hauled herself back into her own seat and dug in the main compartment of the backpack for Chelsea's cell phone. She found it and frowned at the display.  
  
"Chelsea, it says, 'no signal' and 'searching for service,'" Adora reported.  
  
"Damn trees," Chelsea said with a faint twist to her mouth. "Blocking.signal."  
  
Adora knew then that she had to get higher than their current position in the ravine to get help. "All right, then I'm going to have to go get help. We can't wait for someone to come find us."  
  
She tucked the blankets in tighter around Chelsea, hoping to preserve more body heat. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that warmth was an important factor in helping a body fight off shock. She didn't notice that her pendant had come loose from the layers of clothing and was glowing softly. Adora was turning away from Chelsea and about to shove open the door when the fading sunlight caught it and made it glow even brighter.  
  
Chelsea saw that it was glowing and knew what it meant, having been exposed to too much magic not to. She reached out with her right hand and put a hand on Adora's arm. "Wait."  
  
Adora paused, clearly not understanding what Chelsea meant. "Chelsea, I have to go. You can't wait for someone to find us."  
  
"No.not that." Chelsea tried to explain, but found she didn't have the breath. It took so much effort just to breathe without tons of pain. It took more energy, but hurt a hell of a lot less to do it the 'other way.' She pushed the thoughts to Adora, :Your pendant. Magical. Will also lead you to help.:  
  
Adora looked in surprise at the pendant glowing brightly and grasped it in one hand. "You're sure?"  
  
"Yes." Chelsea exhaled. Her eyes slid closed and she fought for a moment to open them again and look at Adora.  
  
Chelsea was certain, Adora decided. There was just a certainty in her gaze despite the cloudiness of the pain.  
  
"Try to stay awake, Chelsea. I'm going to go find help," Adora said and turned back to the door. It took some effort, but she was able to get it open and haul herself up and out of the wrecked vehicle.  
  
Chelsea's head slumped back against her shoulder once Adora was out of sight. She was so tired and the pain was more than she could effectively handle. Her head was throbbing in time with her pulse and the left side of her body was just one massive ball of pain. She was in trouble now, all right.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Seahawk's pendant was beneath the layers of clothing when it flared and grew hot against his skin. Startled, he braked to a sudden stop in the woods. He pulled it out and held it in his hands. The glow was almost blinding.  
  
"By the ancients! Adora! She must be in trouble!" he exclaimed sharply. He could feel the warmth of the pendant soaking through the thick layers of his glove and turned around until he had a bearing on which way to go to find her. After getting the bearing, he throttled up and took off at full speed in that direction.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Adam and Marlena arrived back at the shuttle bus pick up area just in time to see the bus pulling up. They stowed their skis and snagged a pair of seats. Adam began rubbing the back of his neck again. Something was wrong and he just knew it.  
  
"What is it?" Marlena asked.  
  
"I don't know," Adam answered. "Just a really bad feeling that something's gone wrong."  
  
"Adora?" Marlena asked, a hand clenching tightly on the edge of the seat.  
  
"I think so," Adam closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment. The link was there, but closed on Adora's end, like she didn't know that there was a door between them. All he could get was a sense of worry and concentration.  
  
"Anything?"  
  
"She's worried and concentrating on something," Adam answered, rolling his head and shoulders, trying to relieve the built up tension.  
  
"We'll try to call Chelsea when we get back to the suite," Marlena assured him.  
  
"That sounds like a good idea," Adam sat back in his seat and closed his eyes, trying to get though to Adora again. He 'knocked' on the door between them and waited for her to answer. It was like she didn't hear him. He tried again and waited for an answer. Either she wasn't hearing him, which was possible, or she heard him and didn't know how to open the door between them. He opened his eyes to see that they were pulling into the lot at their resort.  
  
The driver dropped them off at the front door of the hotel. As they swept into the lobby, Marlena paused long enough to ask the concierge to have someone return their equipment back to the ski pro. The concierge quickly had a bellhop over there to handle it for them. Marlena gave a generous tip and continued on to the elevator. Adam trailed behind her, watching her charm and tip the staff into doing anything for her.  
  
Upstairs in their suite, Marlena tried to call Chelsea at her grandparents' house. No answer. She left a message, "Chelsea, this is Marlena. I just wanted to check and see how things were. Give me a call, we're back in our rooms now at the resort."  
  
She looked next to the phone and found the piece of paper on which she had written the mobile number Chelsea had given her that morning. She tried that and it immediately rolled to voice mail. Marlena punched the right number to leave another voice message, "Chelsea, you're probably on the phone, so just give me a call when you get a chance, it's Marlena." She hung up the phone and turned to Adam, "I've left messages for her, but there's no telling where she's at. She could have just run into traffic getting here."  
  
Adam nodded, no more convinced than she was. If only Adora would open up the link between them. 


	9. Chapter 8 A Thousand Times, A Million D...

***If you really want to read the silly disclaimer, go back to the Prologue - I am not going to post it all over again! :-p***  
  
Chapter VIII  
  
* * * * *  
  
It was hard work, but Adora managed to get herself back up to the roadside. She paused as much to let her head quit throbbing and to get her breath back before moving forward again. She checked the cell phone and the device still said 'no signal' and 'searching for service.'  
  
"Blast," she exhaled heavily. She trudged over to the other vehicle and checked the driver's condition. She could find no pulse on the man. She sighed and said, "Well, it is too late for you, sir, but I still have time and means to find help for my 'friend.'"  
  
With Chelsea's thought about the pendant still echoing in her head, Adora pulled it out and looked closely at it. "So, you're supposed to lead me to find someone to help us?" She figured that Chelsea had meant it like a guiding, homing beacon and turned to see which way it glowed the brightest. It led back to the way they had come before everything had gone so wrong. She moved slowly and carefully through the deep snow, trying not to place too much weight on her damaged right knee. Even with the knee brace, she knew it wouldn't stand up to much abuse as she left the scene of the accident behind her.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Seahawk paused and checked his pendant again. The direction it was telling him to go matched the directions that the boy, Davey, had given him. He had to catch up to them sooner or later here. His heading verified, he took off again, the throttle fully open.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Adora stumbled on, the adrenaline that had carried her this far wearing off and the pain from her torn knee slowing her ability to move faster. She had to pause to catch her breath and ended up with another coughing jag. After getting her breath back, Adora felt even more drained, but pushed on. She had to get help.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Seahawk rounded the bend and saw a figure dressed in layers struggling through the snow. His pendant burned hot against his skin and he knew without a doubt that it was Adora he now faced. He brought the snowmobile to a quick stop and all but dove off the snowmobile to catch Adora as her wounded knee gave way once more.  
  
"Adora! Thank the ancients I found you!" Seahawk exclaimed, sweeping her up in his arms and carrying her back to the snowmobile.  
  
Adora coughed and had to take several breaths before she could ask this stranger how he knew her. "Who are you?"  
  
Seahawk removed the helmet after he set her down and said, "Adora, my name is Seahawk and I was sent here by Queen Angela of Brightmoon to bring you back to Etheria."  
  
"Why -" Adora began, only to be cut off by another coughing jag. The cold air was setting her bronchitis off again. "Why should I believe you?"  
  
Seahawk smiled. This was so similar to their first meeting. "Because I was there when Shadoweaver cast her spell on you - just moments too late to rescue you."  
  
Adora looked up at him, "You know about what was done to me?"  
  
"Yes. Like I said, I was there," Seahawk answered grimly.  
  
Adora still didn't look convinced.  
  
Seahawk knelt down in front of her and said, "Would this convince you that I know you and that I care desperately for you?" He took her face gently in his hands captured her mouth in a gentle kiss that just seemed to go on forever.  
  
Adora melted against him, feeling the warmth that bubbled up deep inside of her. Whatever else her body recognized this man. It was almost like a bell ringing slow and deep, full of promise in her soul. It took her a few moments to gather her thoughts after Seahawk ended that melting kiss.  
  
"If that didn't convince you, then perhaps this will," Seahawk pulled out his pendant and put it in her hands. "These were a gift to us from a sea witch whom we saved. They let us know when the other is in danger by glowing brightly and when joined, nothing can separate them."  
  
Adora looked at the pendant glowing warmly in her hands. She pulled out the one she was wearing under her jacket and it seemed drawn to the other one. "Chelsea said my pendant would lead me to." she trailed off for a moment. "Chelsea! We've got to get back there! She's hurt!" She tried to get up and found that her knee would tolerate no more abuse and she fell right back into Seahawk's arms.  
  
"Whoa! Slow down a moment. What happened?" Seahawk said, kneeling in front of her again.  
  
"Chelsea - she rescued me from the storm the other night - she was taking me back to my family over at this place called Breckenridge Resort, in order for them to take me home," Adora explained briefly. For truly, her memories right now started with being bone chilling cold and the inner knowledge that she was in danger of freezing to death.  
  
"Right," Seahawk answered. "Your family is here?"  
  
"Chelsea said it was my mother and brother who had come for me," Adora replied, trying to put everything Chelsea had told her in place. She fought back the urge to cough and lost.  
  
Seahawk questioned, "Your mother and brother, Adam, are here from Eternia?"  
  
Adora nodded, still trying to get her breath.  
  
"So, why is Chelsea hurt? Why are you out here by yourself?" were his next questions.  
  
"There-" Adora wheezed, and had to take another breath before continuing. "There was an accident and Chelsea was seriously injured."  
  
"Where?" Seahawk said, reaching for the helmet he had set down next to Adora.  
  
"Back the way I came. I don't know how long I've been walking," Adora answered.  
  
"Right," Seahawk said, putting the helmet back on before helping Adora swing her right knee over the snowmobile so she was straddling the seat and facing forward. "Let's go see what we can do. Hang on tight now."  
  
With those words, the snowmobile roared back to life and he took off at full speed in the direction from which Adora had come.  
  
They arrived back at the accident scene in under ten minutes, now finding another vehicle on scene and hearing the approaching wail of sirens. Seahawk brought the snowmobile to a halt near where Chelsea's vehicle had gone off the road. "Stay here, Adora, and I'll see if I can help."  
  
Adora nodded, knowing he was right. Her knee was once again a screaming mass of pain and her chest felt heavy, making it hard for her to draw a full breath.  
  
Seahawk clambered down the slope to where Chelsea's vehicle was and called out, "Hey, is anyone here?"  
  
A burly, red haired giant stuck his head out the door of the overturned vehicle. "Yeah, I'm here! Go get the medics and tell 'em we've got a live one down here. The other driver's a goner."  
  
Seahawk stared at the man for a moment trying to process his word choice before it clicked in, "Right. How's this one?"  
  
"Not good. Now go get those medics!" the burly man ordered.  
  
"Right," Seahawk answered and scrambled back up the hillside to direct the medical rescue personnel. Reaching the top, he saw the vehicles with flashing lights and sirens coming to a stop not too far from him.  
  
One of the uniformed people came up to him and asked, "Were you the one that called in the wreck, sir?"  
  
"No, I just got here with my fiancée, she was a passenger in the vehicle that's down in the ravine. The driver, a Chelsea, is still down there seriously injured," Seahawk answered.  
  
"Right," the man nodded and called out over his shoulder, "Hey we've got two in the second vehicle. One mobile, the other still down in the car."  
  
"Gotcha," one of the medics from Summit County Ambulance Service said, walking to the back and reaching into the bay of the truck to pull out a backboard and his equipment bag. He hurried past Seahawk and Adora to scramble down the hillside to Chelsea's vehicle, followed closely by his partner.  
  
The person in front of Seahawk said, "Stay by your fiancée's side, the paramedics will want to check her over too."  
  
"Sure," Seahawk answered.  
  
The policeman turned and strode through the snow to the other wrecked vehicle, reached into his coat pocket pulled out a pair of latex gloves and slipped them on to check the status of the other driver. He managed to get the door open and checked the other driver's status.  
  
Another ambulance pulled up and the two paramedics in it got out and quickly got their equipment out of their rig and approached the police officer.  
  
"What have you got?"  
  
"Two car MVA - looks like this car hit the other vehicle which rolled down in the ravine. Two passengers in the second vehicle. One passenger mobile and sitting on the snowmobile over there and the driver is still down in the car. No pulse on this driver," the officer reported.  
  
"Right," the paramedic nodded and called out to his partner, "Hey Jim, you want to take the passenger of the second vehicle? She's sitting on the snowmobile."  
  
"Got it," the man called out, slinging his bag on his shoulder and grabbing a backboard from the rig. He made a beeline straight for Adora and knelt down in front of her. "Hi there, I'm Jim and I'm gonna check you over to make sure you don't have anything else to worry about after being caught in that accident."  
  
"All right," Adora agreed neutrally. Her head was throbbing and she was having a hard time drawing a deep breath again.  
  
"Can you tell me your name?"  
  
"Adora Randor," Adora said, using the name that Chelsea had told her her family had registered under at the resort.  
  
"Can you tell me what happened, Adora?" Jim asked, pulling a pen light out of his front pocket and flashing it in her eyes.  
  
"Chelsea was driving. I was asleep when she woke me up. Something about the other car bugged her. She tried to move out of its way, but she lost traction and before she could regain it, the other car hit us on her side. We went rolling and the next thing I knew, I was hanging in my seat, since we'd landed on Chelsea's side of the car."  
  
Jim noted the unevenly dilated pupils and asked, "Did you hit your head?"  
  
"Yes," Adora admitted and immediately winced as the paramedic found the goose egg on her temple under the hat.  
  
The paramedic carefully peeled back the hat to see that the bandage Chelsea had placed on the wound earlier was now soaked through again. "This is on top of a previous injury?"  
  
"Yes," Adora admitted. "I.tripped, hurt my knee and fell the other day and Chelsea was taking care of me until the storm broke and she could get me back to my family."  
  
"Where is your family from, Adora?" the paramedic asked, making note on his clipboard about the previous injury.  
  
"Far away," Adora answered and began coughing again.  
  
Jim made more notes. "Were you wearing your seatbelt, Adora?"  
  
Adora nodded, unable to verbally reply at the moment.  
  
Jim came to a sudden decision, "Adora, I want to get you inside the ambulance where it's warmer, but first I want to get you strapped to the backboard here. It's just a precaution since you were involved in a roll- over accident." He looked back over his shoulder to the police officer who was making the accident report. "Hey Mike, can you help me get this lovely lady into Ken's rig here?"  
  
"Sure," the officer answered and moved to do just that.  
  
It took but just a few organized moments that the paramedic Jim had a c- collar on Adora, she was strapped to the backboard and he was carrying her across the snow with help from the police officer. Inside the warm ambulance, he continued asking Adora questions and marking the answers down.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
In the ravine, the paramedic team found they had their work cut out for them with Chelsea. Her pulse was sluggish and they were having a hard time keeping her conscious to respond to their questions. Everything was a sure sign of shock and severe injury. With the help of the burly giant who was an off duty paramedic from a neighboring district, they got her out of the bulky four wheel drive vehicle and strapped to the backboard with her left arm and leg in braces to stabilize them before getting her to the hospital and x-rayed.  
  
Once they got her out of the ravine, the burly giant paused and stood next to Seahawk.  
  
"How's your fiancée?"  
  
"I don't know," Seahawk admitted. "She was sick and injured before this."  
  
"Do you need a lift anywhere?" the man asked, noting that Seahawk had arrived on the scene via snowmobile.  
  
"Yes, I think so. I don't know where they are taking them and I don't have any other transportation aside from the snowmobile."  
  
"Closest ER is the Vail Valley Med Center. That's about fifteen miles from here. It's on my way, so why don't I drop you off there?"  
  
"That would be great, yes," Seahawk answered and looked again at the snowmobile he had ridden on to find Adora. "But, what about my -?"  
  
"Don't worry, I know someone who can pick up your snowmobile and drop it off at my place until you can come get it," the stranger offered.  
  
"Thank you," Seahawk found himself puzzled by the stranger's willingness to help him.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"Seahawk," was the distracted answer as he watched the ambulance that held both Adora and Chelsea turn on its sirens and slowly moved forward on the snow-covered road to head off to the hospital.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Adam restlessly paced the suite. His unease was a tangible thing now that even Marlena could feel from where she sat on the couch. She had tried both of Chelsea's phone numbers and reached voicemail each time she had called. They were both on edge and waiting for the phone to ring. It was now past time for Chelsea to have met them with Adora and Marlena knew with a certainty as much as Adam's that something was wrong. She was now waiting now for a call in some fashion to let them know where to go next.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Seahawk arrived at the hospital just moments after the ambulance carrying Adora and Chelsea had pulled up to the emergency entrance.  
  
The burly giant, John Williams, who had given Seahawk a ride, pulled a card out of his back pocket and scribbled a number on the back of it before handing it to Seahawk, "Here, this has almost every way possible to reach me. Just give me a call when you're ready to pick up the machine."  
  
"Sure, thank you," Seahawk nodded and turned to watch the paramedics unloading and moving Adora and Chelsea into the emergency room.  
  
The truck moved out of the way in order to clear the way for another ambulance that was pulling up.  
  
Seahawk found himself at a loss once inside the doors of the facility. The medical personnel hovered around Chelsea and Adora, calling for different things. He stood to one side and watched helplessly. The police officer from the scene walked in a few minutes later, carrying a backpack in his hand. An inner voice prompted Seahawk to approach him and get the bag. It was important for him to get that bag. As luck would have it, the officer approached him.  
  
"Did they leave you to fill out the paperwork on your fiancée and her friend?" the officer asked.  
  
Seahawk just nodded, not sure how to answer.  
  
"Then, you'll probably need this. This has your fiancée's friend's information on it that I'm sure they will need to treat her," the officer handed him the backpack.  
  
"Is there anything you need me to do?" he asked, taking a hold of the bag.  
  
The officer shook his head. "I need to finish filling out the accident report, but I can't talk to your fiancée and her friend right at this moment."  
  
"How's the other driver?" Seahawk asked.  
  
The officer frowned and answered, "Dead at the scene. It looks like he suffered a heart attack and that's what caused the accident. I will wait for the coroner's report before I file a final report on the accident."  
  
Seahawk didn't know how to answer to that so he just nodded. One person dead, when it could so easily have been Adora? He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and looked back to where the medical people were working in a coordinated beehive of activity around the two women. He remembered the bag he had in hand. That would give him the means to contact Adora's family who were here on Earth, that inner voice prompted him. He turned and set the bag on the counter and looked through it. In one of the outer pockets he found a folded piece of paper that that inner voice again prompted him that it was what he was looking for. He unfolded it and looked at the handwritten note. Marlena's name leaped out at him along with a number.  
  
"Excuse me," he said to the nurse who was working the desk, "Can you help me? I need to make a -"  
  
"-Call?" the nurse answered. "Certainly. I can dial the number for you."  
  
Seahawk handed her the slip of paper and she dialed the phone before handing him the receiver.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Marlena had crossed to the desk and was flipping though the phone book contemplating calling one of the two local hospitals when the phone rang. She snatched the phone up and said, "Hello? Chelsea? Is that you?"  
  
There was a moment of stunned silence from the other end, during which Marlena could hear a pa system going off in the background. Then, "Hello?"  
  
Marlena frowned and clutched the phone tighter. "Yes, hello?"  
  
"Sorry, this is Seahawk. Is this Qu-, I mean, Marlena?"  
  
"Seahawk?" Marlena questioned. This was Adora's boyfriend that she'd yet to meet.  
  
Across the room Adam stopped and stared in surprise at the mention of Seahawk's name. He moved to his mother's side and waited to hear what was said.  
  
"Where are you, Seahawk and where are Adora and Chelsea?" she questioned.  
  
"There's been an accident." Seahawk said.  
  
"How are they, Seahawk?" Marlena asked, bracing her back.  
  
"Adora seemed to have gotten off with only a bump on her head, but Chelsea." Seahawk looked back over across the hall.  
  
"Where are you, Seahawk?" Marlena asked, putting her fears aside. She could collapse later on; right now, she would be strong and hold her family together.  
  
"Vail Valley Medical Center," was the answer.  
  
"Fine. We'll be there just as soon as we can," Marlena said. "Stay where you are."  
  
"I'm not going anywhere," Seahawk assured her.  
  
"Right," Marlena said and hung up the phone. She immediately picked it back up and dialed the concierge. "Yes, this is Marlena Randor in the Cardinal Suite -"  
  
Adam couldn't hear what the person on the other end said, "I need a car to take my son and I over to Vail Valley Medical Center immediately. I just got word my daughter was in an accident and taken there."  
  
Marlena nodded, "Yes. Vail Valley Medical. five minutes? Yes, that will be great, thank you."  
  
She hung up the phone and turned to Adam. "It looks like your troubled feeling was right on the money - your sister and Chelsea were in a bad wreck on the way here."  
  
"How bad?" Adam asked.  
  
"Adora seemed to get off light but Seahawk didn't know about Chelsea," Marlena answered, moving to the door to put on her shoes and coat.  
  
Adam headed back to his bedroom, grabbing both swords, having a feeling they weren't going to be coming back to the resort any time soon and that the swords would be needed - at least Adora's. He joined his mother at the door and they headed out together.  
  
Downstairs, they found one of the resort's limos with the driver standing next to the door awaiting them. The driver opened the door with smooth efficiency as they approached and tipped his head to her. "Vail Valley Medical, ma'am?"  
  
"Yes, please hurry if possible," Marlena answered, sliding into the vehicle.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," the driver replied smartly, shutting the door and striding to his side of the vehicle. Moments later they were on their way.  
  
The driver maneuvered the vehicle in and out of traffic on I-70 with all the skill of a New York cabbie. Soon they were pulling off the highway and heading for the hospital. He pulled to a stop just on the other side of the emergency entrance and quickly moved around to open the door for his passengers.  
  
Marlena thanked the driver for his speed and complimented him, "You could put a New York cabbie to shame any day. Do we owe you anything for the ride?"  
  
"Thank you, ma'am, but no. Compliments of the resort," the driver said with a small smile.  
  
"Thank you even more then," Marlena said with a genuine smile before hurrying inside with Adam.  
  
They found Seahawk inside, pacing the waiting room in front of the nurses' desk anxiously looking towards the cubicles where the medical staff worked.  
  
"Seahawk," Adam greeted. The two shook hands and Adam introduced his mother. "Seahawk, my mother, Marlena."  
  
Seahawk took Marlena's hand and bowed briefly over it. "I'm honored, Marlena."  
  
Marlena took a moment to give him a once over as he bent over her hand. This was the man who'd captured her daughter's heart. Her first impression was that she approved. He had made the call to them to let them know what happened and he knew his manners, it seemed. "Captain Seahawk," she answered with a nod.  
  
"What's their status, Seahawk?" Adam asked.  
  
"I don't know. They said something about taking Adora to get something called an MRI for her head and knee and wheeled her away just before you arrived," Seahawk answered.  
  
"Magnetic Resonance Imaging," Marlena supplied. "It's a way for them to see what's wrong by using computers - science."  
  
"Have you heard anything on Chelsea yet?" Adam questioned next.  
  
Seahawk shook his head. "The only thing I've heard is them calling for more x-rays."  
  
Marlena nodded and said, "I'll go see what I can find out." She moved away from the two men and went up to the desk.  
  
"Do you know what happened, Seahawk?" Adam queried, keeping an eye on his mother.  
  
"Not really. I got to Chelsea's house after they had already left to meet you. I managed to borrow a - snowmobile - and tried to catch up to them. I found Adora stumbling in the snow some distance away from the accident and she wasn't making much sense."  
  
"How did you get here in the first place?"  
  
"Queen Angella, primarily," was the answer. "She borrowed my pendant to search for Adora after the battle at Blackmoore. I was in Gailsbreath working on my ship when Madam Raz brought me back to Brightmoon in order to come here."  
  
Adam nodded, "Queen Angella is a very powerful lady."  
  
"You can say that again," Seahawk agreed almost fervently.  
  
Marlena returned with two clipboards and a grim expression on her face.  
  
"Any news?" Adam was the first to speak.  
  
"Preliminary reports on Chelsea suggest aside from fractures in her left forearm along and her lower leg, a concussion and cracked ribs, since she was having difficulty breathing," Marlena said as she sat down in one of the chairs and began filling out the requested information on the first clipboard. She looked to the bag that was in the seat next to her and questioned, "Is this Chelsea's bag, Seahawk?"  
  
"Yes, it is," Seahawk answered. He had this puzzled expression on his face. "This inner voice kept bugging me to make sure I got that bag and telling me where to look to find the piece of paper with your number on it."  
  
Adam raised an eyebrow and looked to Seahawk. It seemed Seahawk was being prompted from afar here. He wondered who it could be. He didn't think it was the Sorceress and certainly seemed too subtle for Madam Raz. He wondered if Queen Angella had given Seahawk something before he left. "Did Queen Angella give you anything before you came here?"  
  
Seahawk nodded and answered, "Yes, she gave me a charm that would allow me to get a signal to her when I was ready to return."  
  
Adam nodded to himself. It would seem that Queen Angella was also keeping an eye on Adora from afar. He had known she was a powerful sorceress when they had rescued her from Talon Mountain and she had continued to prove it time and again in continuing to hold Brightmoon against the Horde.  
  
"Why? What does that have to do with anything?" Marlena questioned, looking up from the clipboard.  
  
"It would seem that Queen Angella is also looking out for Adora," Adam said simply.  
  
Marlena looked at him for a moment with a raised eyebrow that promised Adam she would be grilling him later on where it was safer to talk of such things. She dropped her gaze back to the clipboard and Chelsea's organizer, copying information from it onto the clipboard. A few minutes later she completed the second clipboard and took them back to the nurse along with a pair of cards from the organizer. The nurse copied them and handed them back to Marlena. The two spoke for a moment and Marlena returned with a guarded expression.  
  
Adam asked, "What is it?"  
  
"Adora is being moved to a room and the attending physician will be out to talk with us after she's reviewed the MRI results. Chelsea is still being worked over. They have the x-rays back on her and she's over getting her MRI now. They have her listed as serious condition and after they have her stabilized, she will be moved to ICU. It will be some time before we can get up to see either of them," Marlena answered, putting the cards away in Chelsea's organizer and the organizer back in the backpack. She sat down and prepared to wait for the doctor to come talk to them.  
  
Adam processed the information his mother relayed and tried to wait patiently. He knew now what he needed to do and to be so close, yet still so far away from being able to do it was wearing on his temper. He couldn't just barge into Adora's room, since that would raise way too much attention, even if that was exactly what he wanted to do.  
  
True to what the nurse had reported, the attending physician did come out a short time later to talk to them. She had a careful expression on her face and immediately approached Marlena, "Mrs. Randor?"  
  
"Just Marlena, please," Marlena answered, coming to her feet.  
  
The doctor nodded and said, "Marlena, I'm Doctor Xiao. Let me give you an update on your daughter and her companion. Your daughter seems to be suffering from a concussion, torn ligaments in her right knee and a moderate case of bronchitis. What's disturbing is the apparent amnesia she seems to be suffering. She has no recollection beyond her name and the last couple of days-"  
  
"She had a nasty fall which is how the injury to her knee and her head happened," Marlena explained. "Chelsea is a family friend who was taking care of her until the storm broke and she could drive her back to us."  
  
The doctor accepted that and remarked, "She certainly has a good knowledge of first aid and seemed to be treating the bronchitis fairly effectively."  
  
"She's a certified massage therapist and healer in training," Marlena went on to say.  
  
Dr. Xiao had a surprised expression on her face hearing Marlena use the word, healer. "I am awaiting a consult from the orthopedic surgeon for her knee, to see if it can be treated non-surgically or the ligament tear is too severe and requires surgery. Your daughter is in serious condition, as I said, but her MRI was good - it just showed some slight bruising to the brain, but no swelling or bleeding."  
  
Seahawk looked to be quite lost with all the medical terminology being tossed about and Adam had a similar look on his face as well.  
  
Marlena sighed and a relieved smile briefly found its way to her face, "That's the good news."  
  
"Yes," was the reply from Dr. Xiao. "I am still concerned about the bronchitis - the prolonged exposure to the cold today certainly is not helping her body recover from that."  
  
"Right," Marlena answered and Adam could almost see the wheels turning in the back of her head. She was planning something here all right.  
  
"We are pumping her full of antibiotics to make sure we keep the bronchitis under control and barring complications, I expect to have that cleared up in a few days," Dr. Xiao continued.  
  
"What about Chelsea?" Marlena asked next, storing away everything the doctor had told her so far. She knew it would be of use later on.  
  
"Miss Cameron's condition is much more serious," Dr. Xiao answered on a sigh. "Why don't we sit down and I'll tell you all about it."  
  
Marlena sat down next to the doctor who looked at her notes for a moment, clearly gathering her thoughts.  
  
"In the accident, she suffered broken bones in her lower left leg - the tibia and fibula, her left forearm - the ulna and radius and fractured three ribs. One of her broken ribs punctured her lung, so we had to quickly fix that in the ER before doing anything else."  
  
"Oh no," Marlena exclaimed. "Did it collapse her lung?"  
  
"Yes, and that was one of the things we corrected right away in the emergency room. Now, as soon as we get her MRI results, the orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Wilde, will be taking her to surgery to fix the damage to her arm and leg," Dr. Xiao answered honestly.  
  
"So, we're looking at about two or more hours before she's in a bed in ICU, I take it," Marlena said next.  
  
Dr. Xiao agreed, "Yes. The damage to her arm isn't that bad, but the damage to her leg will take some time to repair."  
  
"I understand," Marlena answered, sitting back, putting her thoughts in order.  
  
"Do you have any other questions for me right now?" Dr. Xiao asked.  
  
Marlena paused and then shook her head. "I think you've answered everything I need to know for now. When will we be able to see my daughter?"  
  
"She's being settled into a room and you should be able to go up and see her shortly," Dr. Xiao answered and stood up. "Let me see if she's been assigned a room number yet." The Asian woman moved over to the nurses' station and briefly conferred with the nurse there. He returned to Marlena's side and said, "She's being settled into room 349, which is just down the hall from ICU."  
  
"Thank you," Marlena said graciously, coming to her feet. She looked over to Seahawk and Adam for a moment, indicating they should follow her lead.  
  
Adam gave a discreet nod as did Seahawk and they waited for her cue.  
  
"Where would be a good place to wait for an update on Chelsea?"  
  
"The OR waiting room is on the second floor, just follow the signs once you get off the elevator and turn left. I'll send word up to Dr. Wilde that you'll be waiting there when he gets done." Dr. Xiao said.  
  
"Thank you so much," Marlena said graciously.  
  
The physician left and Marlena turned back to the two who'd stood silently behind her during the exchange with the ER physician. "Come on, we might as well get some coffee, since it looks like we're going to have a wait."  
  
"What's coffee?" Seahawk asked Adam quietly as they followed behind Marlena.  
  
"It's a Terran drink for energy," Adam answered.  
  
"You've been here before?" was Seahawk's next question.  
  
"I haven't, but He-Man has," Adam quickly answered. There was no way he was going to admit to being here before. That would be admitting he was He- Man as long as his mother was within earshot. He had to keep a careful watch on what he said.  
  
"How long have you been here?"  
  
"We arrived a couple of days ago - right after Adora came through to here almost. The Sorceress of Greyskull summoned us right away once she figured out what happened."  
  
Seahawk shook his head, amazed at the forces that had combined to find Adora.  
  
Marlena directed Adam and Seahawk to sit at a table while she fetched the small group fresh cappuccinos to drink while they plotted out their next moves.  
  
Taking a hold of the cup Marlena passed to him, Seahawk questioned, "What do we do now? Do we get Adora and head back to Etheria or Eternia?"  
  
"We wait, Seahawk, we wait," Marlena answered on a sigh, handing Adam his cup. "We just can't leave Chelsea like this. She's done too much to help Adora for us to leave her behind like this."  
  
Adam nodded his agreement. "She's been taking care of Adora since she found her out in the blizzard."  
  
Seahawk's eyes went slightly wide. "She was out in a storm like that?"  
  
Marlena had a brief smile playing about her face as she answered, "Chelsea is at the very least, a very determined person. And, as she said to me, it wasn't as if she had much choice in the matter after the dream - she said the pull was too strong to resist."  
  
Seahawk again felt the overpowering sense of amazement at the forces that had rallied to find Adora. He unzipped his jacket and draped it over the back of the chair as he quietly sipped at his coffee and waited for Marlena to continue.  
  
"Having lived in the area for several years, and having a super strong sense of self preservation even when committing insane acts as going out in a blizzard, she went out prepared," Marlena continued on, cradling her coffee cup in both hands. "She has worked non-stop for the last two days to try and keep Adora stable until we could meet up in order to take her back to Eternia. All we know is that they left Chelsea's grandfather's house and 'met with disaster,' to borrow an over used phrase."  
  
"And, that is where I came in. I found Adora stumbling her way through the snowdrifts, apparently trying to find me. She'd managed to get some distance away from the wreck before I came up on her." Seahawk explained what he knew as they drank their coffee and began their wait. It didn't take long for him to tell his portion of the story and then the planning on their course of action began.  
  
"Do we go see Adora now, or do we wait?" He asked, taking a sip of the warm drink. It had a most peculiar flavor and he could feel a bit more alert after the adrenaline rush from finding Adora had worn off.  
  
Marlena studied her coffee cup for a moment, the first sign of hesitation Seahawk had seen out of her since meeting the woman in the emergency room lobby. "I think it might be best if Adam and I waited to see Adora if she's awake."  
  
Seahawk watched Marlena turn the cup in her hands, her body language now giving away the tell tale signs of her anxiety.  
  
"I'm afraid that if Adam and I try to see her now, we may do more harm than good. We need for her to remain calm not only for her sake, but for Chelsea's," Marlena tried to keep her voice from showing her emotions, but she couldn't quite control the waver to it.  
  
Adam had a comforting hand on her arm as Marlena leaned her head back, closed her eyes and took a deep, shaky breath.  
  
A moment later, she had shoved her emotions back and was once more the determined woman that Seahawk had seen earlier. "I'm sure that Adora will be glad to see a familiar face, while Adam and I wait for news on Chelsea."  
  
"And, from there?" Seahawk questioned.  
  
"And, from there, we play it by ear," Adam answered. "I think I know what to do to break the spell, since it's similar to one that Evil-Lyn cast on He-Man some time back. But, I will need to talk to Adora alone in order to see if I can get her to listen to me."  
  
Marlena looked sharply to Adam, her expression clearly wondering what he was planning.  
  
"I have to talk to her alone, Mother. It's part of what we talked about back at the resort," Adam said obliquely.  
  
For a moment, Seahawk felt like an outsider in this tight relationship between mother and son, but still had to ask, "You have a way to break the spell?"  
  
Adam looked to Seahawk and said, "Yes, I'm pretty sure I do, but I have to confirm it with the Sorceress of Grayskull, and to convince Adora to listen to me."  
  
Seahawk still looked a bit unconvinced, but knowing where magic was involved, his knowledge was clearly not at the level of Adora's brother. There was just something about Adam that told him he had many more layers to him than most people thought or saw to look for.  
  
"Do we want to head up and wait for the surgeon?" Adam asked, after taking another sip of his cappuccino.  
  
Marlena closed her eyes for a moment, and sighing, she pushed back her emotions again then nodded her agreement. "Yes, we should head upstairs. We just might get a lucky break here and the surgeon might finish sooner than expected with Chelsea."  
  
Seahawk looked closely at Adora's mother, seeing the strong willed Queen come back to the fore and the concerned mother pushed back to watch from over the Queen's shoulder. If he didn't know that it was a defense mechanism to allow Marlena to get through this crisis, he would have wondered about her mental stability.  
  
Marlena moved to stand and immediately Adam was on his feet, pulling her chair out for her. She gave him a brief smile and said, "And to think, there were times when I despaired of you ever learning your etiquette."  
  
"I don't think I had much of a chance not to learn it," Adam answered and looked to Seahawk, "You should be grateful you never had to learn court etiquette, Seahawk."  
  
"I am - very much so," Seahawk replied, also standing and retrieving his coat.  
  
"Oh hush, it wasn't that bad and you were even much younger when you had to learn it than I was," Marlena bantered back, wrapping an arm around Adam's.  
  
Seahawk watched the closeness between them and was envious. He barely knew his father and only vague memories of his mother.  
  
"Are you coming, Seahawk?" Marlena asked as the reached his side.  
  
"What?" Seahawk replied startled out of his reverie. "Oh, yes. I'll go up with you and then I want to check in on Adora."  
  
"Good," Marlena said with a decisive nod. She linked her other arm through Seahawk's and together, the three headed for the elevators. 


	10. Chapter 9 This Place is so Quiet, Sensi...

Chapter IX  
  
* * * * *  
  
The elevators came to a stop on the second floor and Seahawk walked with them to the waiting room outside of surgery. Marlena kept a hold on his arm until then, like he was one of her family. More and more he felt himself amazed at her strength of will. She would not let her worries get the better of her until the crisis was past and she could freely give way to her emotions. He saw many similarities between her and Adora in terms of character, so amazing since Adora grew up in the Fright Zone, under Hordak and Shadoweaver's auspices. Upon reaching their destination, he took his leave with a small bow.  
  
"I'm going to go see Adora now," Seahawk said as he bowed over Marlena's hand.  
  
"You probably won't get much out of her, Seahawk," Marlena cautioned. "They've probably got her pretty well doped up by now with pain killers for her injuries."  
  
"I understand, but I've still got to see her," was Hawk's answer.  
  
"Of course you do," Marlena said, her expression full of understanding and longing. "I'll be up to see her just as soon as we get some word on Chelsea."  
  
"Right," Seahawk replied and with a nod to Adam, turned and departed for the time being.  
  
Marlena sat down with a sigh and prepared to wait for the surgeon.  
  
"It will be all right, Mother," Adam tried to comfort her.  
  
"I know, Adam, I know," Marlena sighed, "It's always the waiting and not- knowing that's the worst. I know how we can fix this mess we've seem to have found ourselves in right now - we need to get Chelsea and Adora back home to our healers, but the logistics of it all. Right now it escapes me."  
  
"We will work it out, Mother," Adam assured her.  
  
"I know we will, Adam, but I wish you would confide in me why you think it's necessary to tell me half-truths and keep information from me," Marlena sounded tired and a bit aggrieved. It would be so much easier if he would just tell her everything!  
  
"There will probably come a day when I can tell you everything, Mother, but until then, I simply cannot," Adam stated his case, the knowledge of what all he was keeping from his mother weighing heavily on him at the moment.  
  
"Then, what are you planning, Adam? At least tell me this," Marlena sat back up and looked at him directly.  
  
"I need for Adora to claim her sword and I think I may need the Sorceress of Grayskull's help with getting her to listen to me," Adam explained quietly.  
  
"So, why can't I be there, Adam?" Marlena questioned, going from worry to irritation.  
  
"Because it's knowledge that would be too dangerous for you to have at this time, Mother," Adam answered, his patience beginning to wear thin. *Sorceress, grant me patience from my own mother! *  
  
Marlena gave him another sideways glance that told him she still wasn't satisfied with his answer, but again it was the wrong time and place to be talking about the whys of it.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Seahawk walked down the hallway, pausing at the doorway that led to the small ICU ward and was grateful that Adora hadn't ended up there. He didn't know what Adora's family was planning, but her brother Adam certainly had something in mind.  
  
A nurse looked up from her charts and asked, "Can I help you, sir?"  
  
Seahawk shook his head, "No, not really."  
  
"Is there someone you're looking for?" The nurse in colorful scrubs asked.  
  
"My fiancée," Seahawk answered, tilting his head towards the direction of Adora's room. "She's down the hall."  
  
"Do you know what her room number is?" she looked back down at her terminal and her dark brown braid hair fell forward over her shoulder as she set her hands on the keyboard, ready to look up the information for him.  
  
"Yes," Seahawk answered, "yes, I do. She's in 349."  
  
"So you know where you're going then?" the nurse questioned, looking back up at him.  
  
"Yes," Seahawk answered again with a nod. "I was just on my way to go see her. I'll be back this way once her friend is brought up from surgery."  
  
"Ah," the nurse nodded. "I'm here until midnight, so I'll probably see you again. My name is Darcie."  
  
"Seahawk," was the rejoinder.  
  
The nurse's face lit up in a smile, "I bet your parents loved the old 'swashbuckler' movies."  
  
Not knowing how to answer that, Seahawk chose the safer route, "You could say that." He nodded to her and headed down the hallway to go see Adora.  
  
He walked in as the nurse was taking her blood pressure and temperature. The thermometer beeped and the nurse wrote that information down in the chart before unwrapping Adora's arm from the blood pressure cuff.  
  
"I'll be back in an hour to check up on you again," the nurse said, putting everything away and leaving the room.  
  
Adora nodded tiredly and leaned her head back against the pillows at her back. "Just when I thought I was going to be done with that routine," she sighed, obviously going to be a cranky patient this time around.  
  
Seahawk smiled a little. It was good to see something of the Adora he knew coming through. "May I come in?" he questioned.  
  
Adora looked up at him and it took a moment for recognition to register and then her face blushed as she remembered the melting kiss.  
  
The color was a welcome contrast to the bleached white pillowcase and bed sheets was Seahawk's thought as he walked into the room. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"I don't quite know," Adora said around a yawn. "They gave me something and I can't seem to think."  
  
Her eyes closed and for a moment, Seahawk thought that the pain medication had pulled her into the sleep realms. They fluttered back open and she said, "I don't like how dizzy I feel. I need to stay awake to find out about Chel-" she was cut off by a coughing jag that drained all the color from her face.  
  
Seahawk moved to her side in just a few long strides, wondering what he could do to help her. Adora waved him off and pointed to the water pitcher on the table. He poured her a cup of water; ready to hand it to her when she finished coughing.  
  
It took her several moments before she'd managed to clear the bit of phlegm that had obscured her breathing. The effort drained her face of color and she gratefully took the cup of water Seahawk poured for her.  
  
"You need to rest, Adora," Seahawk said. "Chelsea will be in surgery for quite a while yet from what I understand."  
  
"She's in surgery?" Adora questioned, her voice raspy from the coughing jag. Her eyes were heavy, fighting against the pull of the painkillers.  
  
"Yes," Seahawk said, holding one of her hands wrapped in both of his. "You need to rest now so you can see her later on."  
  
"I can't-" Adora tried to protest around a yawn.  
  
"You have to, Adora," Seahawk answered. "You can barely keep your eyes open as it is. You can see Chelsea once she's out of surgery."  
  
Adora seemed to settle back against the pillows, somewhat assured by Seahawk's answer. Her eyes closed for but a second before they flew back open and she exclaimed, "My family!"  
  
"They're here. Chelsea had the means of contacting your mother in her backpack and she and your brother Adam are downstairs waiting for Chelsea to come out of surgery," was the calm assurance as he still held her hand captive.  
  
Adora yawned again, her eyes closing briefly before she pulled them back open and looked to Seahawk, "How is Chelsea?"  
  
"She took a real beating when the accident happened," Seahawk paused for a moment to recall what the doctor in the emergency room had said, and more than grateful that it had not been Adora who'd been hurt that badly. "Her left leg and arm were badly broken and she had a cracked rib puncture her lung."  
  
"Oh no," Adora sighed raggedly before beginning to cough again. It wasn't a serious coughing jag, but enough to leave her winded once more.  
  
"You need to rest, Adora," Seahawk asserted once more. "You can't go see Chelsea if the nurse has to knock you out."  
  
"So tired. . ." Adora murmured, the painkillers in her IV line, doing their work and making her drowsy.  
  
"Yes, rest now, Adora," Seahawk shushed her, taking a hand and gently brushing her bangs back off her forehead. His fingers skimmed over the bandage that covered the swollen bump drawing a momentary grimace from Adora as her eyes slid closed once more.  
  
"Don't forget to wake me when it's time to go see Chelsea. . . " Adora said, opening her eyes once more and tightening her hand on Seahawk's.  
  
"I won't," Seahawk promised, continuing to brush her hair back from her face. "Now, sleep Adora. Let the medicine they're giving you do its job."  
  
"Don't forget. . ." Adora whispered, her eyes sliding shut and staying shut as she relaxed back into sleep.  
  
"I won't," Seahawk repeated, continuing his gentle strokes and still holding her hand.  
  
Adora kept her hand wrapped around Seahawk's as she let the drugs pull her under. He was still holding her hand and stroking her hair; when the nurse came back to check on her at the hour check mark. Color was back in Adora's cheeks, but Seahawk knew it was from the fever.  
  
The nurse spoke briefly with Seahawk before waking Adora up and getting the proper response from her as she did the blood pressure, temperature and pupillary response check.  
  
Adora looked to Seahawk and with a smile asked, "Promise?"  
  
"I promise. Now, go back to sleep," Seahawk answered with a smile.  
  
She slid back into sleep with Seahawk holding her hand still.  
  
Seahawk waited until she was asleep again before releasing her hand and placing a kiss on her forehead. "I'll be back," he whispered and left the room. He nodded to the nurse and walked back to the elevators to go see if Marlena and Adam had any news yet.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Outside the surgery center, Marlena tried to read the book she'd stuffed in her bag upon leaving the suite while processing her thoughts on the argument she'd been having with Adam since arriving on Earth. Fact - the key to breaking the spell was Adora's sword, she knew that much. Fact - Adam had a sword similar to Adora's. Fact - Adam knew more than he was telling. Fact - Adam was a hell of a lot more coordinated and physically fit than he let on back on Eternia. Fact - Adam said he needed to talk to Adora alone in order to break the spell. Putting it all together and she was left with one strong case of Mother's Intuition. There was just so much she was guessing at and putting together that she had a pretty strong case for her beliefs now. She was going to make a point of having a talk with the Sorceress when they returned to Eternia.  
  
At the approach of footsteps approaching both she and Adam looked up to see Seahawk returning.  
  
Marlena asked first, "How is she?"  
  
"Sleeping for the moment, but more concerned with Chelsea than she is herself," Seahawk answered, sitting down in one of the chairs.  
  
Adam had a half smile on his face, "Sounds like Adora, all right."  
  
"She made me promise to wake her up to see Chelsea once she was able to have visitors," Seahawk said, stretching his legs out in front of him. "Do we have any news on Chelsea yet?"  
  
"Not yet," Marlena answered. "I don't expect to hear anything for another hour at least."  
  
"So, the real wait begins now?" Seahawk commented in a voice full of irony.  
  
"Yes, it does," was Marlena's answer. She glanced over at the TV that was on a bracket up on the wall. *Why do airports and hospitals think that all we want to watch is CNN?* Marlena thought to herself. Nothing of major importance was happening, yet the news channel kept rehashing unto the nth degree the smallest thing - in this case, the never ceasing conflict in the Mid East. With an inward sigh, she turned her attention back to her book and tried to get absorbed in it to pass the time.  
  
Seahawk and Adam took turns pacing the small waiting area, or talking about their experiences with fighting the Horde. Seahawk talked about the ill- fated battle at Blackmoore.  
  
"There's really not much I can tell you from my end," he admitted. "Spirit found me on the road already en route to Blackmoore. We immediately headed back there and from there, went straight to where Hordak and Shadoweaver had set their trap. Adora was trapped in the forcefield and Shadoweaver was already casting her spell." He paused and rubbed the back of his neck ruefully. "I made the mistake of trying to rush Hordak first. If I'd been paying attention, I should have gone after Shadoweaver."  
  
"Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, Seahawk," Marlena said, looking up from her book to see the tortured expression on his face.  
  
"But, if I had-" he started to say.  
  
"No buts, Seahawk," Marlena interjected firmly. "You didn't know what Hordak had planned. None of us did."  
  
Seahawk looked up in surprise, caught in her steady gaze. He found himself surprised by Marlena's strength of will once more.  
  
"For whatever reason, I dreamed about the battle that night, Seahawk," Marlena went on to explain in a voice full of quiet conviction. "I saw what happened. There was nothing you could have done. If you had tried to attack Shadoweaver first, Hordak still would have shot you and I doubt it would have been just a stun blast. Hordak was going to allow nothing, absolutely nothing, to stop Shadoweaver from casting that spell."  
  
A different sound had Marlena turning her head to see the surgery doors closing and a nurse in surgical scrubs approaching. Seahawk and Adam were on their feet almost before Marlena.  
  
"Mrs. Randor?" the surgical nurse questioned.  
  
"Yes," Marlena answered.  
  
"Dr. Wilde sent me out to let you know that he's just finishing up and will be with you in a few moments," the nurse said with a neutral expression.  
  
"How did everything go?" Marlena asked.  
  
"As smooth as can be expected when dealing with a trauma case," the nurse replied, her face saying nothing. "Dr. Wilde is finishing up with Miss Cameron and then seeing her transferred to recovery. He'll be out in just a few more minutes to talk to you."  
  
"All right, thank you," Marlena answered, feeling herself being able to breathe just a bit easier now. She was tired of waiting for news and was anxious to get Chelsea and Adora back to Eternia.  
  
The nurse left them and headed back through the doors leading to surgery.  
  
Marlena sighed and sat back in her chair, her thoughts racing in a million directions. She wanted to get home and see her husband; she wanted Adora and Chelsea to be all right and most of all, she really wanted to knock Hordak off his feet for what he had done again to her family.  
  
A few minutes later, an older gentleman who reminded Marlena of an old cowboy came striding towards them.  
  
"Mrs. Randor, I'm Dr. Wilde. I understand you're waiting to hear how Chelsea Cameron did in surgery?" The surgeon had a full white mustache that just matched the drawl in his voice.  
  
"Yes, please, call me Marlena," Marlena said, already taking a liking to this cowboy surgeon.  
  
"Marlena then," the surgeon replied with a nod.  
  
Marlena introduced Adam and Seahawk, "This is my son Adam and my daughter's fiancée, Seahawk."  
  
"Well, let me show you the x-rays here on Miss Cameron and show you all what we repaired," the surgeon said after shaking hands with the other two.  
  
"Of course," Marlena answered, following him around the corner to a light board.  
  
He pulled out a set of x-rays and put them up on the board. The breaks were visible even to Marlena's untrained eye. "Here you see how the bones in Miss Cameron's forearm are before the surgery. The ulna and radius have compound fractures in them here and here -" he pointed out the two visible breaks.  
  
Marlena kept her face impassive and she looked at the x-rays, but a quick glance to the side told her that Seahawk was visibly flinching, while Adam's eyes had a shuttered look to them.  
  
The surgeon pulled that set of x-rays down and replaced it with another, "Now here you see the bones are realigned and held in place now by a set of pins on this break-" he pointed to the break closer to the wrist. "The other break was a bit trickier and we had to use a small plate on the ulna, since it had a chip that wasn't visible on the x-ray. The break on the radius we just were able to use a pin to realign the bone."  
  
Marlena sighed and shook her head. By Earth standards, it would be weeks before Chelsea's arm healed to the point of her having any use of it.  
  
The surgeon pulled down the post-surgery x-rays of Chelsea's arm and replaced them with pre-op ones of her lower leg. Again, it wasn't a pretty picture and Marlena could more than see why Chelsea had been rushed to surgery. The breaks in the lower leg were a lot worse than in the arm - the bones looking more like a jigsaw puzzle. "As you can see, the lower leg took a lot more damage. It looks like this was the point of impact for the accident. The tibia and fibula bones are not just chipped, but also misaligned here and here," he pointed out the breaks. He replaced the x- rays with the post-op ones, showing more pins and plates, "Now you see how much we matched all the jigsaw puzzle pieces back together here. We used a lot of pins and screws to get all the pieces back in place."  
  
Marlena questioned, "How much of this is permanent? I mean, will any of the pins and screws eventually be able to be taken out once the bones heal?"  
  
"The plates and screws are permanent, but the pins will be removed surgically once the bones have healed to a certain extent," Dr. Wilde answered in his drawling voice.  
  
"Did you have to insert rods into those bones in order to stabilize them?" Marlena questioned next, looking at the x-rays.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," Dr. Wilde replied with a short nod. "And, the rods will be permanent, I'm afraid. She'll set off the metal detectors at the airports now," the surgeon said with the barest hint of a smile.  
  
Marlena snorted, "With that much metal now? I should think so."  
  
"The other break was easier to repair - it was cleaner in terms of bone fragments."  
  
"All right, what about vascular damage? Is there anything major to worry about there with how badly the leg was broken?" Marlena asked next. She could tell she'd just shocked Adam and Seahawk with her medical knowledge.  
  
"Well now," the surgeon drawled out, his voice reminding Marlena of an old west figure. "There's where we caught a break. None of the major blood vessels were damaged. We just have to watch and make sure the incisions don't become infected and that the swelling doesn't cut off circulation."  
  
Marlena nodded before questioning, "Now, considering all the work you've done here, is Chelsea going to be in traction or in casts while this heals?"  
  
"She'll be in casts, but she won't be on her feet at all until the bones have truly begun to knit back together," the surgeon answered. "She won't be able to handle a crutch when she won't have a lot of use of that left hand, either."  
  
"True," Marlena said. "What type of casts did you put her in? Hard plaster, or soft casts?"  
  
"Because of the extent of the damage, I had to go with plaster." The surgeon answered.  
  
Marlena sighed and nodded, "I was hoping otherwise, but I understand. Now, will she be in traction the whole time, or will she be able to go home in a few days?"  
  
"Barring infection or any complications, she should be able to go home in a few days - provided she has full time care. She's not going to be able to manage on her own for a while," Dr. Wilde replied.  
  
"Of course. I know her grandparents are in the San Juan Islands, but I am sure they will be here just as soon as they can get manage it," Marlena said, planning on being back on Eternia before that happened. "Now, what about vascular and muscle damage? I know with breaks like this, there is a great tendency for massive tissue damage."  
  
"We got lucky there," the surgeon drawled out, his voice reminding Marlena of an old west figure. "There was almost no vascular damage and the muscle damage was minimal because she couldn't or didn't move that much once she was injured. That was all repaired when we went in and cleaned up the mess from the fractures."  
  
Marlena seemed to feel some of the tension ease from between her shoulders. "That's great. Now, how about her breathing? How much longer is she going to remain on the ventilator?"  
  
"Once she's stable up in the ICU, the attending physician will see to its removal. I don't want to stress her anymore than necessary right now - give her a chance to come out of the anesthesia first,"  
  
Marlena nodded, in agreement, her face showing her distaste for the possibility, "The last thing you want to do is to re-intubate someone after you pull that breathing tube out."  
  
"I don't foresee any reason to keep her on the ventilator - it's better to take her off it as soon as possible, but we want her stable before we do this," Dr. Wilde said.  
  
"Right," Marlena agreed and was silent for a moment.  
  
"Do you have any other questions for me?" Dr. Wilde questioned.  
  
Marlena looked to Seahawk and Adam behind her and each shook their head in the negative. She turned back to the surgeon and said with a smile, "No, I think you've answered all our questions for now. Thank you so much, Dr. Wilde."  
  
"My pleasure," the surgeon drawled around a genuine smile. "It's not often I get to talk to someone who's not a colleague who understands what I'm talking about when I 'get to babbling in medical mumbo jumbo,' as my wife says."  
  
Marlena laughed and shook hands with him, "It's been a pleasure to talk frankly with you." She turned back to Adam and Seahawk and said, "Come on, I want to see how Adora's doing while we're waiting to see Chelsea."  
  
She led the way back to the elevators with Adam and Seahawk following closely behind her like an honor guard as the surgeon pulled the x-rays down from the light board and put them back in their envelope. He turned off the light board and headed off in the opposite direction.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
In the elevator up to the next floor, Marlena turned a speculative eye on her son, "What are you thinking, Adam?"  
  
"Nothing definite yet," Adam answered his mother as the elevator came to a stop. "I need to talk to Adora before I can say anything."  
  
Marlena considered that for a moment before nodding to him as they stopped off the elevator and headed towards Adora's room.  
  
Seahawk pointed out the small ICU ward on the way down the hallway.  
  
Adam swept his eyes over the ward, making silent observations that he would use in trying to finalize his plans.  
  
Upon reaching Adora's room, they encountered the nurse finishing making notations in a binder as she walked out of Adora's room. The nurse looked up and studied Marlena for a moment before saying, "Oh, you must be Adora's mother."  
  
"Yes. Yes, I am. How is she?" she asked.  
  
"I just got done doing the hourly concussion check on her and she responded to that, just fine. She's running a low-grade fever and still doing a lot of coughing. It will take a while for the cough medicine and antibiotics to kick in and knock out the bronchitis. Dr. Wilde will be by in a while to look at her knee."  
  
"Is she awake?" Marlena questioned.  
  
A shake of her head, "No, she fell right back asleep as soon as I pulled the blood pressure cuff off."  
  
"All right, thank you," Marlena said, looking past the nurse to the darkened room.  
  
"My name is Meghan and I'll be your daughter's primary charge nurse during the day while she's here," Meghan answered, finishing her notes in the binder and then closing it.  
  
"Thank you, Meghan," Marlena replied with a graceful nod.  
  
The nurse smiled and headed back to the nurses' station binder in hand.  
  
Marlena was quiet for a moment before heading into Adora's room. Adam and Seahawk hung back, with silent understanding that she wanted to be alone with her.  
  
After she was in the room, Seahawk turned to Adam and questioned him, "What have you figured out so far?"  
  
"Not a lot," Adam admitted in a low voice.  
  
"Why is this world so afraid of magic?" Seahawk asked, trying to get a handle on things.  
  
Adam sighed, "I don't know, really. All I can think of is that they are more focused on technology and science. *Those* things they understand and magic, well, since they don't understand it, they don't want to acknowledge its existence."  
  
Seahawk shook his head, this was a strange world. "What do we need to do in order to get Adora and Chelsea back to Eternia?"  
  
"It's going to be a matter of timing and coordination when we make our move," Adam said, scanning the area and beginning to get an idea. "But, I need to talk to Adora first and foremost, then I need to see how Chelsea's room is laid out. I figure you'll have your hands full with Adora when we go through the portal, and I'll have to move carefully with Chelsea. We're going to have to move fast to keep from raising the alarm."  
  
Seahawk agreed, "I can carry Adora, but will we be able to do this without raising the alarm?"  
  
"I don't know, but we're certainly going to have to try," Adam said, scanning the hallway again. It looked like some simple distraction would be all that was required to get Adora out of her room and down the hall to see Chelsea. He would leave it up to Seahawk to handle Adora. On a side note, he briefly wondered if his father would be ready for Seahawk. Adora had just returned to their lives in the last couple of years and he didn't think the King would be ready for his daughter to be in a serious relationship yet and with a pirate like Seahawk no less.  
  
Seahawk's next comment brought him back to the present and their current situation. "How long do you think it will be before Hordak makes a move against the rebellion?"  
  
"Not long at all," Adam immediately answered. "He'll take his time to build up to the large attack, but he will immediately begin pushing at them from all sides. He'll be waiting for She-Ra to be occupied on one front and then make a big push on another front - say towards Brightmoon."  
  
"Brightmoon?" Seahawk asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why not one of the other kingdoms first?"  
  
"Because he's obsessed with Brightmoon," Adam said with a shrug. "When does Hordak do anything logically?"  
  
Seahawk snorted and agreed, "That's true."  
  
Adam said, "I expect him to begin mounting an attack on Brightmoon almost any time now." What he left unsaid was that the rebellion would be in trouble without either She-Ra or Adora to help them on either front - especially if Hordak let loose something truly nasty.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Marlena heard Adam and Seahawk begin talking as she entered the room. If it was important, she knew they'd fill her in when she got done seeing Adora. It was dim in the room, the sun having set while they had sat waiting to hear word on Chelsea and now only a band of purple remained on the western horizon as night fell. The nurse had left the bathroom light on to shed light in the room without preventing Adora from resting. Her heart wrenched to see how pale Adora was as she came up to her bedside.  
  
"Oh, Adora," she whispered, taking in the site of her daughter, with one leg encased in a brace and carefully suspended in a sling, an IV drip in the back of her right hand and the obviously painful knot on her right temple. She pulled the chair in the corner of the room over and sat down, capturing Adora's left hand in between hers. "You sure landed in a mess this time, didn't you?"  
  
Adora's brow creased and her breathing caught for a moment, but she didn't wake.  
  
Marlena stroked the back of the hand she held and continued on, "I still wonder what it would have been like to see you and Adam grow up together. I probably would have a lot more gray hair, but oh." She broke off and had to push aside the dark emotions - the rage and sorrow that threatened to take over. "You will never believe how shocked I was when I opened my eyes to see you standing there at Adam's side that first time. I thought I was dreaming at first.  
  
"I don't know how Adam did it, but he managed to find you and bring you home. Now I hear vague bits and pieces of what is happening on in your life on Etheria. I know Adam isn't telling me everything and there is so much he won't answer that I can only hope that you would be able to tell me." Marlena paused and gently stroked Adora's forehead as she made a sound that wasn't a combination between a cough and a moan. "Shhhhhh," Marlena soothed. "It's all right now, Adora. You're safe. Just breathe."  
  
Adora drew in a strangled breath and began coughing in earnest. She curled both arms around her chest, as if to give herself extra support as the coughing jag shook her whole body. Marlena cupped her back in a manner to help break up whatever bit of congestion that had come loose and was keeping her from getting a full breath in at the moment. She finally got the phlegm cleared and weakly sank back into the pillows behind her. She sipped at the water that Marlena held out for her before turning glazed eyes on her mother.  
  
"Red hair?" Adora murmured, her eyes not wanting to stay open.  
  
"Red hair?" Marlena echoed, clearly not understanding.  
  
"Red hair," Adora repeated. "Chelsea said. mother has red hair."  
  
It took Marlena a moment to decipher that Chelsea must have told her that she had red hair. "Yes, I have red hair. Chelsea mentioned that did she?"  
  
"Yes," Adora said on a sigh as her eyes slid shut.  
  
Marlena pressed a kiss to her cheek and said, "Rest now, Adora. We'll be heading home soon enough."  
  
Adora's breathing evened out as she slipped back into sleep.  
  
Marlena sat back down and continued her soothing stroking of Adora's forehead. Only some long minutes later, when she was sure that Adora was once more deeply asleep did she sit back in the chair and watch her daughter. They had much to talk about when they got back to Eternia. She knew that Randor might have wanted for Adora to come home to Eternia after she finished freeing Etheria from the Horde, but she had some doubts about that now seeing how worried Seahawk was about her.  
  
"You know, Adora, I don't think I've ever heard the whole story on how you and your young man met." She said softly, holding Adora's left hand once more. "I like him. He really does care about you. What is your father going to say?" She laughed lightly for a moment. "He's going to have to adjust his thinking and quit trying to find a prince to marry you off to."  
  
Marlena stayed in the chair at Adora's bedside through Meghan coming back for her hourly check on Adora.  
  
There was a knock on the door as she entered saying, "Knock, knock." She walked in carrying the maroon binder and opened it up on the bed tray, beginning to do her checklist of items.  
  
Marlena took that time to go out and go see what Adam and Seahawk had come up with while she had been with Adora. She walked out of the room to see Adam leaning with his back against the wall and Seahawk next to him with one shoulder proper against the wall. The two of them were having a quiet discussion.  
  
Adam noted her first. He straightened up and nodded at her. "Welcome back," he said by way of greeting as she approached. "How's Adora?"  
  
"Pretty much out of it. She had another coughing attack. She sounds like she's trying to cough up a lung," Marlena paused for a moment, pushing back her guilt as a mother for failing to protect her daughter.  
  
"Was she awake at all?" Adam questioned.  
  
"Not really - she asked me about my hair. Chelsea must have told her that I have red hair, because that was what she asked about."  
  
Adam considered that for a moment before Marlena asked, "What have you figured out?"  
  
"Getting Adora out of here will be the easy part. Think you and Seahawk can round up a wheelchair while I talk to Adora?"  
  
Marlena quirked an eyebrow at his request, he was asking both of them to go? "Why? What do you have in mind?"  
  
"Like I said, getting Adora out of here will be easy - you and Seahawk can wheel her out of here easily enough."  
  
"And, what will you be doing?" Marlena directed her question to him with a still quirked eyebrow.  
  
Adam's mouth twisted briefly, "Providing distraction."  
  
"Oh?" Marlena's eyebrow went right back up. She figured out what he was going to do and couldn't resist a gentle bit of teasing, "Oh, you're going to 'chat it up' with them, are you?"  
  
Adam rolled his eyes, which was more than enough answer for Marlena. She grinned and patted his arm. "You'll survive, Adam."  
  
"Yes, but it's the oldest trick in the book," was Adam's answer. "I feel like an idiot having to do something like that."  
  
"Discretion is the key, here," Marlena said by way of approval.  
  
Adam nodded and replied, "That's going to be the hard part when we open up a portal in Chelsea's room."  
  
Marlena frowned and agreed, "True. Do you know how you're going to manage that part yet?"  
  
Adam shook his head. "Not quite. I need to see what the layout of her room is. I think we'll play that one close to the vest. I'll have the Sorceress open the portal, but we're either going to have to go through it all at once, or go individually."  
  
"I vote for individually," Marlena commented, watching Meghan come out of Adora's room and put the maroon binder back in its slot among with about four other binders, before grabbing a different one and heading to another room. Her co-worker did the same with the binders on her side of the desk just moments after Meghan had entered the room two doors down from Adora. "We don't want to get into trouble all going into Chelsea's room at once. The nurse won't let us do that - not since she's in ICU. She will, however, make an exception for Adora, since she can't very well wheel herself."  
  
"So, you think Adora and I should go through first?" Seahawk asked, figuring out what Marlena meant.  
  
Adam answered, "That would be best, I think."  
  
"All right," Seahawk accepted the plan. "How soon do we move on this?"  
  
"Within the next couple of hours," Adam stated. "Let's wait until they have Chelsea off the ventilator first."  
  
Marlena agreed, "Right."  
  
"Do you want to see if she's been moved up here yet, Mother?"  
  
"It's been over an hour now, so if not yet, then she should be up here soon," Marlena said, looking down the hallway to where the ICU was. "Let's go check and see."  
  
"Right," Adam nodded and pushed away from the wall. Both he and Seahawk fell in behind her.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Again, with Adam and Seahawk behind her like an honor guard, Marlena led the way down to the ICU. There she charmed Darcie into letting them see Chelsea.  
  
"Keep it short and only one of you at a time," Darcie relented.  
  
"Thank you," Marlena said with a smile. She led the way over to Chelsea's room and found herself surprised when Seahawk asked if he could go first.  
  
"I - wanted to thank her," Seahawk explained, finding himself at a loss for words.  
  
"You don't have to explain anything, Seahawk, I understand," Marlena assured him with a hand on his arm.  
  
Seahawk found himself alone in the room with the person who had risked her own life to help Adora without even knowing who she was. He was overwhelmed at all the strange machinery that surrounded the unconscious woman on the bed. He stood at her right side, not know what to say at first. "I - find myself here at a loss for words here. Because you chose to help Adora, you have been grievously hurt." he paused for a moment, trying to find the right words. "I can't thank you enough for helping her, nor can I apologize enough for what has happened to you as a result. Just keep this in mind that Adam is working on a way for all of us - including you - to get back to Eternia. He said, and I agree with him on this, that you have done too much to be left here to heal by traditional means for your homeworld. In just a short time, we will be heading back to Eternia. So, thank you. Thank you for risking your own life to help Adora."  
  
He turned and with one last look at the sleeping woman, left the room.  
  
Marlena took her turn next and pulled up a chair to Chelsea's bedside. "Chelsea, what have you gone and done to yourself this time?" She sat down and took Chelsea's right hand in hers, mindful of the IV line. "First you go haring off in a blizzard to go find Adora and now you get in a wreck bringing her back to us? This wasn't supposed to happen. "  
  
Just as Marlena was going to say something else, Chelsea's hand tightened around hers. Marlena looked up to see Chelsea had her eyes open and was trying to focus on her.  
  
"Chelsea? Are you with me for the moment?" Marlena asked, her eyes flickering briefly to the monitors behind Chelsea's bed.  
  
Chelsea tried to say something, but was blocked by the breathing tube. Her eyes widened with panic and she tried to move her left hand but found it immobile. Frowning, she next tried to get her right hand free from Marlena's grasp.  
  
"Shh," Marlena soothed. "You have a breathing tube in right now. Don't try to talk."  
  
Her eyes wide, Chelsea focused on Marlena, clearly frightened by the tube in her throat.  
  
"Don't worry, Chelsea. It's only a temporary thing," Marlena assured her.  
  
Chelsea didn't appear to be appeased by that and her heart rate increased even more, Marlena could see on the monitors. She was fighting the tube in her throat.  
  
Making a quick decision, Marlena assured her, "I'll be right back, Chelsea. I'm going to get your nurse." She put the hand she'd been holding down and turned towards the door. She got no more than two steps before Darcie was in the doorway.  
  
She stepped to the bedside and said in a reassuring tone to both Chelsea and Marlena, "I've called the attending physician and the respiratory therapist. We should be able to take that tube out of your throat in just a few moments here."  
  
Chelsea's eyes closed for a moment and she tried to take a deeper breath, stopped by the pain from her cracked ribs and the ventilator.  
  
Marlena found herself waiting back outside the room as the attending physician came in with the respiratory therapist close on her heels pushing a cart. She explained to Adam and Seahawk what was going on as they waited for the room to clear. It took a few minutes, but the doctor approved it and the respiratory therapist worked with Chelsea to remove the tube. The attending physician and the therapist left not long after that, pleased expressions on their faces.  
  
Darcie emerged from the room and said to Marlena, "That went very well. I didn't think that Dr. Weiss would approve that so fast, but she did."  
  
"Well, maybe luck is finally on our side here," Marlena answered. "Thanks so much for getting them here so fast."  
  
"Dr. Wilde had already left orders for it as soon as she was conscious enough and Dr. Weiss just signed off on it," Darcie explained and moved back to her station and her monitors.  
  
Adam entered the room after a warning look from Darcie to keep it short. He promised and then headed into the room. He was surprised to find her still somewhat awake fighting the pain medication that was trying to put her back asleep once more.  
  
"Chels," he said as he got to her side. "You're supposed to be resting."  
  
"Can't," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. "Adora?"  
  
"You can't rest because you want to know about Adora?" Adam interpreted.  
  
A bare hint of a nod from Chelsea let him know he was right.  
  
"Adora is in better shape than you," Adam supplied. "She came out of the accident with no more real damage than before. She hit her head again, but didn't do else to her knee. She's in a room down the hall."  
  
"Good," Chelsea exhaled. Her eyes closed and she drew in a hissing breath. "Hurts."  
  
"Well, you should quit fighting the meds, Chels," Adam chided.  
  
"Maybe." she whispered, and hissed again.  
  
"Chels, do you have *any* idea of the pounding you took in the accident?" Adam asked her, shaking his head.  
  
"Not. . ." Chelsea exhaled and drew another breath, ". . .really."  
  
"You were on the ventilator because not only did you crack some ribs, you punctured a lung."  
  
"Oh. . . " Chelsea said on a sigh, her eyes beginning to cloud over again.  
  
"Chelsea, rest. Quit fighting the meds. You don't have to worry about anything else now," Adam assured her.  
  
"How. . . soon. . . home?" Chelsea slurred out.  
  
"Soon. I just have to contact the Sorceress and let her know we're ready."  
  
"Goo. . ." Chelsea slurred and succumbed to the anesthesia and painkillers.  
  
"Rest now," Adam said softly. "We'll be back for you shortly."  
  
He took a good look around the room, noting which wall would be best for the Sorceress to open the portal on. He turned on his heel and headed for the door.  
  
Outside he told his mother and Seahawk, "She's asleep. Now, let's go get Adora." 


	11. Chapter 10 A Thousand Times the Mysteri...

Chapter X  
  
* * * * *  
  
This time, Adam led the way back down the hallway to Adora's room, while Seahawk accompanied Marlena on the hunt for a wheelchair. He almost ran into Meghan on her way out of the room.  
  
She came to an abrupt stop and stared at him for a good, long, moment. "You're Adora's twin brother, aren't you?"  
  
"Why, yes, I am," Adam replied, keeping his expression pleasant.  
  
Sure his face was red with embarrassment, Adam headed into Adora's room and quietly pushed the door shut behind him. He took a deep breath to calm himself and pulled out the Sword of Protection.  
  
::Sorceress, can you hear me?:: he said.  
  
::Yes, Adam. I hear you,:: was the reply in his head.  
  
::We're almost ready to come home. Adora and Chelsea both are pretty banged up and are going to need Grayskull's healing powers,:: Adam opened his mind to show the Sorceress what had happened and could feel her dismay.  
  
::Have you broken the spell yet?:: Sorceress asked next.  
  
::Not yet,:: Adam answered. ::That's what I'm about to do. I wanted you standing by, just in case I have trouble getting through to her. She's not particularly coherent because of the drugs they've given her.::  
  
::I shall be here if you need me then,:: the Sorceress said.  
  
::Thank you, Sorceress,:: Adam said in a heartfelt tone.  
  
He moved into the room then, noting that Adora was indeed, asleep once more. He placed the Sword of Protection across the chair that Marlena had moved to Adora's bedside earlier. He picked up Adora's hand and softly called her name, "Adora?"  
  
Her brow creased and she turned her head away.  
  
Adam took note of the increased flush in her cheeks and realized that he would have to take this extra carefully. In her feverish state, she could easily hit the call button for the nurse or call out if she felt threatened by him. "Adora?" he tried again.  
  
A wordless protest and again, she shifted restlessly against her pillows.  
  
::Sorceress?:: Aware of the time constraints, Adam called out, dropping a hand to rest on the Sword of Protection. ::I could use a little bit of help here.:: ::Certainly,:: she answered. ::Adora.::  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Adora wanted nothing more than to stay in the comforting fog she was wrapped in. She didn't hurt and didn't have to fight for each breath. She ignored the male voice calling at her. She didn't want to answer him.  
  
::Adora.:: a new voice, a female this time, called at her. Adora found her much harder to ignore. ::Adora,:: she called again.  
  
Adora's thoughts were of protest. She didn't want to wake up.  
  
::You must awaken, Princess Adora,:: the female voice called at her again.  
  
*Princess?* Adora was puzzled. She wasn't a princess, was she?  
  
::Awaken, Adora!:: The female voice was much more of a demand now.  
  
Adora found it hard to ignore the power that just seemed to emanate from the female voice.  
  
"Adora? Come on, wake up now," she heard the male voice coaxing her.  
  
It was hard, oh so hard to leave that comfortable fog, but the combined voices wouldn't be ignored. She opened her eyes and felt her right hand being held first then the sensations of being hot and still cold and achy returned before her eyesight finally swam back into focus.  
  
"Hey there," the man holding her right hand said with a smile. "You're one tough person to wake up."  
  
"Who are you?" she questioned, trying to put her few memories together.  
  
"I'm Adam - your twin brother," Adam answered simply.  
  
It was then it struck Adora that his eyes were the exact same piercing blue as hers.  
  
"I suppose Chelsea didn't mention that we were twins, did she?" Adam said in a voice full of irony.  
  
Adora shook her head ever so slightly. It hurt to move it more than that, even with all the painkillers currently floating in her system. "Chelsea?" she paused and then gasped, "Chelsea!"  
  
"- Is down the hallway in the Intensive Care Unit," Adam assured her. "We'll go see her in a few minutes here. But first, we need to do something about breaking this spell on you here."  
  
"You know about it?" Adora asked, clearing her throat. She really didn't want to get into another coughing fit. Not yet. She wanted to know how to restore her memories.  
  
"Of course I know about it," Adam answered, "Why do you think the Sorceress sent me here with Mother to find you?"  
  
"Oh," Adora answered and couldn't fight back the cough.  
  
Adam raised the back of the bed in order for her to be able to sit up better. He waited until she had her breath back before continuing. "I know how to break the spell Adora and I've found back the key item in doing so."  
  
"What?" Adora asked, feeling just as confused as she had been since first awakening at Chelsea's.  
  
"Your sword, Adora."  
  
"My.sword?"  
  
"Yes, your sword, Adora. I need for you to take possession of it once more." Adam told her, one hand resting on a naked blade in the chair next to him.  
  
"How?" Adora asked, curious on how a sword, even one she felt pulling at her very soul, could restore her memory.  
  
"Well, first off, we need to get you out of bed and on your feet," Adam said, finding the lever to gently lower her right leg before moving around to the far side of the bed. He undid the straps that held her leg in the sling. Ever so gently sliding it out of the way.  
  
"Why do I need to be on my feet?" Adora was confused.  
  
"Let's just say that it's easier if you're on your feet," Adam replied, moving back to the opposite side of the bed to bring the chair with the sword on it around.  
  
Adora was puzzled by this answer, but her instincts and few memories of what Chelsea had told her, prompted her to trust him. Before she could question him further, she ended up having another coughing jag that left her breathless and wheezing.  
  
"We don't have much time, Adora," Adam said with a bit of urgency.  
  
"Why?" Adora asked when she could breathe again.  
  
"Because to explain it all to Mother and Seahawk is not something I nor you would want to do right now. It's well, complicated, to put it mildly," Adam answered, a lopsided grin on his face.  
  
Adora sighed and wondered how the fates had decided to stick her with this crazy person supposedly as her brother. Her whole body hurt from coughing and she wanted nothing more than to sleep. She leaned her head back against her pillows and felt the drugs trying to pull her back to sleep.  
  
"Come on now, sis, no falling back asleep yet," Adam said, stepping back to her bedside.  
  
Adora opened her eyes and said, "Tired."  
  
"I know you're tired, but in order to help Chelsea, we need to get your memory back," Adam said.  
  
"Chelsea?" Adora questioned, awareness coming back to her.  
  
"Yes, " Adam answered, helping her to sit up. "In order for us to get back to Eternia, we need to get your memory back." He hoped that she would forgive him for this small lie when she did have her memory back and they were all back on Eternia.  
  
"Me?" Adora questioned.  
  
"It'll become clear once you get your memory back, sis, believe me," Adam answered, supporting her right leg as she moved her legs over the edge of the bed.  
  
Adora wobbled on her feet, even with Adam's support around her waist. She kept one hand locked around his arm as he leaned over and picked up her sword from the chair.  
  
Adam presented her sword to her hilt first and Adora stared at it as she tentatively wrapped her hand around the hilt. It felt like she had regained some part of her that had been lost and the jewel in the center of the blade just above the hilt seemed to glow as she took the blade in hand.  
  
She didn't realize he had stepped away from her at first until his voice was no longer right next to her. She looked up at him with a confused expression.  
  
"Now, hold up the sword and say, 'For the Honor of Grayskull,'" Adam instructed.  
  
Adora looked him for a long minute, trying to decide if he was pulling her leg or not. Her eyes went wide as she heard that female voice she thought she'd dreamed speak in her head again. ::He's not lying, Adora. Listen to him and do what he says.::  
  
"That would be the Sorceress," Adam said as she looked at him with a shocked expression.  
  
"'For the honor of Grayskull, you said?'" Adora questioned, feeling the weight of the sword in her hand.  
  
Adam nodded and said, "Yes, that's it."  
  
"For the honor of Grayskull?" Adora repeated softly to herself. She lifted the sword up and repeated the phrase Adam had told her to say, "For the Honor of Grayskull!"  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Adam stood back and watched the transformation take place, since it never ceased to amaze him. Rainbow colored swirls of light burst forth from the jewel in the center of the blade, going in all directions. That was followed by a golden burst of light that then surrounded her in a glowing nimbus of magical energy. From the tip of her sword came a sparkling stream of white light that swirled down around her. Next, a golden cone of magical energy circled down around Adora, transforming her from head to toe into She-Ra.  
  
First to appear was a golden tiara with sculpted wings on the sides of her head to hold back her heavy, full and wavy mass of golden, blonde hair that hid most of the bandage on her temple. In the center of the headband was an oval shaped ruby red crystal. Golden armbands appeared on her forearms, covering them from wrists to almost her elbow. Then, a golden band appeared around her throat to which was attached a flowing red cape that came to just about her knees. The hospital gown was replaced by a short, toga-like, strapless dress that had a golden wing design on the front with a small crystal in the center of it and golden wingtips flaring out at her shoulder. The brace, which had covered her right leg from mid-thigh to her ankle, disappeared as deep, golden-brown, knee-high boots appeared on her feet.  
  
There was another bright burst of golden light from the jewel in the center of the blade, completely surrounding She-Ra as she said with a note of surprise in her voice, "I am She-Ra."  
  
The jewel in her sword gave one final burst of light which went from gold to an intense white that was almost too bright to look at, then the transformation was complete and Adora was She-Ra.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Still not sure at first to believe him, Adora repeated the chant, and watched in amazement as she was surrounded in magical energy.  
  
The wall that had surrounded her memories was breached and dissolved as the transformation took place. Her memories came rushing back in like the tide of the ocean and for a moment, she thought she was going to drown in her memories. The transformation was over and she was She-Ra and her legs refused to support her weight as her memories continued to rush in. She sensed that Adam was there at her side and he was the one who helped her sit down in the chair, rather than her collapsing on the floor in a heap.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Adam watched the display of emotions on her face as she remembered everything. He moved back to her side in two long steps to catch She-Ra and set her down in the chair he had brought around to that side of the bed.  
  
"It is overwhelming at first, I know, but give yourself some time to relax and adjust," Adam said in a knowing and reassuring tone, holding her hands.  
  
A few moments and a couple of deep breaths later, She-Ra reopened her eyes. She gave him a wan smile and said, "Oh, Adam, how good it is to see you! You can't imagine what it was like."  
  
"Oh, yes I can, sis. Just take it easy, we're getting out of here and going home to Eternia as soon as we get Chelsea," Adam assured her. "How are you feeling otherwise?"  
  
"I don't know. I just generally ache all over, but I can't seem to focus on anything in particular," she winced as she touched the bandage that wasn't quite covered by her tiara.  
  
"Well, you've also got enough medicine being pumped into you right now to keep you from feeling too much," Adam said with a nod towards the IV line still in the back of her left hand. He noticed her eyes becoming less focused once more and how she was trying to smother another yawn. The drugs were trying to do their job and pull her back under. It was for the best he decided if she got more sleep in now. "Before you drift away from me here, Sleeping Beauty, you need to change back to Adora. I would have quite a bit of explaining your presence and I would not even want to try to get my way out of that one with her."  
  
She-Ra gave Adam a tired smile as he helped her back to feet to make the change back to Adora. He stood right by her side to lower Adora back into the chair. He took the Sword of Protection from her loose grasp and slid it into place behind the Sword of Power in its scabbard. "I'm going to go get Seahawk and Mother and then we're going to get you out of here."  
  
Adam strode to the door and opened it, just as his mother and Seahawk were returning with a wheelchair.  
  
"Are we ready?" Marlena simply asked.  
  
"Yes," was the simple answer? He looked to Seahawk, "Come on, let's get her loaded into the wheelchair."  
  
"Right," Seahawk said, pushing the chair into the room. Adora barely stirred as he picked her up and deposited her in the chair, while Adam made sure the foot rest was adjusted properly so her right leg was supported, then hung the IV bag from the pole designated just for that on the back of the wheelchair.  
  
"Give me a minute to start talking to Meghan and her friend, then come out and head for the ICU," Adam directed.  
  
"Right," Seahawk answered with a short nod.  
  
Marlena stopped Adam at the door to give him a quick kiss on the cheek and a bit of encouragement, "You can do this, Adam."  
  
"Thanks, Mother," he said and headed for the far side of the nurses' station.  
  
He never could recall exactly what he said to Meghan and her co-worker, but whatever it was, it was enough to have them both giggling like some of the more brainless courtiers that were single-minded in their pursuit of him. The minute passed and he saw Marlena gave the signal to move out to Seahawk. A few moments after they were out of sight, he managed to politely extricate himself from the two nurses and joined the others at a small lounge/waiting area just outside the ICU.  
  
"What now?" Marlena asked him.  
  
"I contact the Sorceress and let her know we're ready and then Seahawk and Adora go first, followed by you and I with Chelsea."  
  
"Let's get moving then," Marlena said.  
  
"Right," Adam answered, moving off to go contact the Sorceress once more. He moved past Darcie at her monitoring station and back into Chelsea's room. He pulled out Adora's sword once more and said, "Sorceress, we're ready. Seahawk will be coming through first."  
  
"All right, Adam," the Sorceress' voice echoed in his head.  
  
The portal opened and Adam turned to go get Seahawk and his sister. He stood guard in the doorway while his mother chatted with Darcie, keeping her distracted just enough to not notice that Seahawk and Adora hadn't come back out by the time Adam nodded to her that he was ready to go.  
  
Once she was in the room with him, he explained to her what help he needed, "I can hold Chelsea, but I need your help to disconnect her from the monitoring equipment."  
  
"Why don't I do that last? " Marlena commented quietly, helping Adam to undo the straps that kept Chelsea's left arm suspended while he worked to lower her left leg from its suspended state. Working together, it only took them a few moments to free her from the supports.  
  
Adam carefully gathered her up in his arms and Marlena disconnected her from the monitoring equipment. Immediately, the alarms went off on the monitor and they could hear Darcie come scrambling from her desk.  
  
"Go," Marlena ordered Adam. "I'll follow right behind you."  
  
Adam moved quickly to the portal, with Marlena hot on his heals.  
  
Darcie entered the room at a run as Marlena paused on the threshold and said, "I'm sorry, but we really must be going now."  
  
Darcie was speechless as the portal disappeared as soon as Marlena stepped through it. 


	12. Chapter 11 A Time for Healing

Chapter XI  
  
* * * * *  
  
Seahawk emerged from the portal with Adora in his arms to be greeted by a woman with amazingly green eyes who was carrying a black staff topped by a golden falcon with wings spread. So much about her seemed to radiate power, including the white wings on her back that were smaller and spoke of speed rather than the grace of Queen Angella, that it took him a moment to sink in what she was saying.  
  
"Welcome to Castle Grayskull, Captain Seahawk," she said.  
  
He was speechless for a moment as her voice washed over him. Then, he took in the man standing next to her with the green and gold armor, clearly a warrior of some sorts. Memories came to mind of Adora telling him about her brother's mentor, Man-At-Arms.  
  
"Welcome to Eternia, Captain Seahawk," was the greeting from Man-At-Arms. "Hello," he said with a brief nod and that was all he had time for as Adam and his mother came through the portal behind him.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Adam stepped through the portal surprised to find Duncan standing there next to the Sorceress. "Man at Arms? What are you doing here?"  
  
"I contacted him to let him know of your return," the Sorceress answered as Marlena stepped through the portal right behind Adam.  
  
"I brought a larger windraider and sent Teela back with the other one when Sorceress said you would be bringing back 'company.'" Duncan explained.  
  
"Thanks, Duncan," Adam said gratefully, as the thought of not fitting everyone back into the two-seater windraider not even having entered his mind before they left to come home.  
  
"Now, if you'll follow me, Captain Seahawk, Prince Adam, we must attend to Princess Adora's and Chelsea's injuries," the Sorceress reminded them.  
  
"Yes, Sorceress," Adam replied, shifting Chelsea's weight in his arms. The plaster casts added more weight than he could carry with ease.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Seahawk's expression was still concerned as he followed Adam and the Sorceress. He hoped this woman lived up to the aura of power that he could feel rippling off of her. He was still truly concerned for Adora's health.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
She led the way to the healing chamber deep in the heart of the castle and had Seahawk place Adora on one of the beds in the room, and directed Adam to put Chelsea on the other. With a wave of her staff, the casts and IV lines on both women disappeared. She put her staff to the side for the moment and closed her eyes as she placed one hand on Adora's sternum and one on her right knee.  
  
Marlena stood in the doorway of the room with Man-At-Arms next to her, watching the Sorceress work. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she felt the energy the Sorceress was summoning in order to do the healing. She glanced sideways at Duncan to see if he was similarly affected, but his face was inscrutable, giving no clue to what was going through his mind. A glance to Adam revealed his face was also guarded, except for a slight tightening around his eyes, showing his worry. Seahawk looked on with an openly worried face.  
  
A golden glow surrounded the Sorceress and then enveloped Adora's still form. The Sorceress' eyes flashed gold as she called up the enormous amounts of energy needed. The change wasn't noticeable at first, but finally, after what seemed entirely too long to Seahawk, the color gradually returned to Adora's face and her breathing came much easier. It lasted for several more moments before the golden glow dissipated and the Sorceress looked somewhat drained, her eyes still that shimmering golden color. Adam stepped forward in concern, but she shook her head and waved him back.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Seahawk watched as the golden glow vanished around Adora - immediately taking note of her improved color and easier breathing. The question on the tip of his tongue, however, was 'why wasn't Adora awake?' He meant to ask it, but just couldn't get the words past the tip of his tongue. He could still feel the powerful energy currents swirling throughout the room and watched Adam make a half step forward towards the Sorceress.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"I am fine, Prince Adam," she said, before turning to Chelsea.  
  
Marlena quirked an eyebrow at the formality from the Sorceress. Somehow, she got the feeling that the formality was more of a show for her than anyone else. She really wanted to have a talk with the woman after everything was said and done.  
  
The Sorceress splayed her hands over Chelsea's sternum and left leg and called forth the healing powers of the Castle once more. This time the golden glow was brighter and lasted far longer than it had when she had healed Adora. She remained locked in the healing trance for several minutes, much longer than she had with Adora, before the energy flashed and dissipated. This time, she didn't protest when Adam stepped forward and placed a hand under her elbow.  
  
Man-At-Arms stepped forward too with a concerned expression and handed her back her staff; which she leaned heavily against. "Are you all right, Sorceress?"  
  
"I am fine, Duncan," she answered, slowly straightening back up. The shimmering golden color drained from her eyes, as Marlena watched, leaving them back to their normal, intense green. "The amount of power needed for the healing merely left me drained for a moment."  
  
"Are you sure, Sorceress?" Duncan asked keeping a hand on the staff she still leaned her weight against.  
  
"I am fine, Man-At-Arms," she answered, sounding stronger.  
  
Adam seemed to believe her for he removed his hand and stepped back to look at Adora and Chelsea, both of whom had yet to awaken. He looked back to the Sorceress with an expression of concern on his face.  
  
"They are merely asleep, Prince Adam," the Sorceress answered, moving forward. "It is a side effect of the speed healing. They will awaken when they have recovered from the energy expenditure."  
  
Marlena heaved an audible sigh of relief before straightening her shoulders and taking charge of the situation once more, "I think we need to head back to the palace, Adam. We should get Adora and Chelsea settled into proper beds."  
  
"Yes, Mother," Adam said and turned to Man-At-Arms, "Duncan, you said you had brought a larger windraider?"  
  
"Yes, I did," Duncan answered, somewhat reluctantly letting go of the hold he had on the Sorceress' staff.  
  
The hesitation was minute and only visible to Marlena's sharp eye.  
  
"Seahawk, you take Adora and I'll take Chelsea?" Adam suggested to the pirate who had remained silent since coming through the portal.  
  
"Of course," Seahawk said, moving forward to gently pick Adora up in his arms once more.  
  
Adam did likewise for Chelsea and Duncan led them off to the windraider after Marlena assured them she'd be along in a moment.  
  
The Sorceress of Grayskull turned and faced Marlena, and Marlena found herself somewhat in awe of the woman. "I wanted to thank you for your help. I don't know if I could have borne it if I knew that Adora was gone for good."  
  
The Sorceress smiled, and to Marlena, she seemed to drop some of the remoteness that she wore like her cloak as Guardian of the Castle. "Don't discount your own strengths, your majesty."  
  
"Yes," Marlena answered, finding herself agreeing with her, "Even before Adam caught up to me, I was on my way to see you that night."  
  
It was quiet for a moment between the two women before the Sorceress shrewdly asked, "You have questions for me, don't you?"  
  
Marlena nodded and said, "Yes, quite a few, actually and I was hoping you would answer them, since Adam was quite evasive about anything I asked him."  
  
The Sorceress smiled and answered, "You mustn't blame him for not answering. He does it out of necessity and love."  
  
Marlena raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"  
  
"He carries a great responsibility and does his best to protect his family," the Sorceress answered.  
  
Marlena felt she was leaving much out of that answer and wondered if she'd ever get a straight answer. "What about Adora? What's her role in all this?"  
  
"Adora's role is the freedom of Etheria now," was the enigmatic answer.  
  
Marlena sighed in frustration, quickly coming to the realization that the Sorceress wasn't going to answer her questions either, "Will I ever get a straight answer from Adam on all this?"  
  
"Eventually," the Sorceress answered. "Don't judge him by what appears on the surface or what others say."  
  
Now that seemed to confirm more of Marlena's suspicions. "So, if I were to say that I already do that and that I have some deep suspicions."  
  
"Then I would say that as his mother, you are probably correct in your suspicions." The Sorceress answered. "Now, your family awaits you, your majesty."  
  
Marlena knew then, that the Sorceress would answer no further questions and with a dip of her head, "Thank you again, Sorceress, for your help."  
  
"I could do nothing less than provide my help, your majesty, " The Sorceress replied as she walked Marlena to the massive drawbridge at the mouth of the castle. Her steps were measured, as if she was still somewhat drained from the speed healing she had done on Chelsea and Adora.  
  
Marlena found Adam standing just inside the mouth of the castle, a wary expression on his face. She wrapped her hand around his arm as he turned and bowed briefly to the Sorceress.  
  
"Thank you, Sorceress," Adam said to her as he bowed.  
  
Marlena could swear she saw a smile lurking on the other woman's face as she answered, "I could do nothing less, Prince Adam."  
  
"Let's go home, Adam," Marlena said.  
  
The windraider Duncan had brought was one of his newest ones that would easily seat the six members of their party and was one of his fastest ones.  
It was clear to Marlena that Duncan was taking few chances should Skeletor decide to attack them en route. She climbed in for what promised to be a short ride back to the palace.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
It wasn't until after the drawbridge closed that the Sorceress allowed herself to drop any pretense of not being affected by the sheer amount of energy she had had to call up for the healing. She leaned/half-collapsed against the wall just inside the mouth of the Castle.  
  
By the Ancients! She should have been prepared for the energy drain by doing one such healing, but to do two of them back to back... What took the most out of her had been doing the healing on Chelsea. She had to channel the energy in such a way to have Chelsea's own healing talents not work against her, but to help in healing her own injuries and those injuries had been quite severe. Adam hadn't lied there. But, trying to work though Chelsea's own wild talents was more draining than she had thought it would be. That had taken her longer, but if she hadn't tried to work through Chelsea, she had had a reasonable fear that Chelesa's talents would flare and backlash - knocking her on her physical and metaphysical rear.  
  
She sighed and shoved herself away from the wall. Leaning heavily on her staff, she made her way back to her chambers in order to rest and recover. One thought lingered in her mind, she was glad that Chelsea had a mentor on Earth to help her learn how to use her talents. She would be a force to reckon with when she hit her stride and controlled her talents versus them controlling her.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Adora halfway awoke on the trip back to the palace, surprised to find herself in Seahawk's arms, "Seahawk? What are you doing here? I had the strangest dream." She yawned and snuggled deeper into his arms. "I dreamed that Castle Blackmoore was under attack by the Horde and I fell into a trap laid by Hordak and Shadoweaver."  
  
"Just rest, Adora," Seahawk said, brushing her golden hair back from her face. All the visible signs of her injuries were gone and he was all too aware of her mother sitting just on the opposite side of her.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Even with semi-advanced word of their arrival, the palace was still in an uproar and mild state of disarray when they landed in the main courtyard of the palace. Marlena found herself wrapped in her husband's arms as soon as she had her feet back on the ground.  
  
"By the ancients! You're home!" He said in a rough sounding voice, holding her tight. Marlena found herself no longer wanting to hold back her emotions and her own eyes filling with tears. "Yes, I'm home."  
  
Randor barely gave a nod to everyone else before turning with Marlena and heading off in the direction of their suite. "To hell with propriety," Randor growled, never letting go of her.  
  
Marlena, who was never one to stand for propriety in the first place, couldn't agree more. Teela met them with something of a scowl on her face and directed her comments to Adam, "About time you got back."  
  
Knowing part of the reason why she was upset, Adam apologized, "I'm sorry, Teela, but there was no time to get you when the Sorceress called."  
  
Teela fumed and looked ready to explode until she saw Adam reach back into the windraider and pick up Chelsea's unconscious form and then she saw a red-haired stranger lean into the windraider and pull out the limp form of Princess Adora. More than caught off guard, her temper died off as quickly as it had flared up, "What happened? Who's that?"  
  
"Teela, this is Captain Seahawk of Etheria," Adam made the introductions as they carried the women into the palace. "Seahawk, this is Teela, she's captain of the royal guard.  
  
"Hello," Teela greeted him, clearly confused as to what was going on.  
  
"Hello," Seahawk returned with a careful nod.  
  
"What is going on, Adam?" Teela turned her attention back to Adam.  
  
"Teela, it's a long story - I'll tell you everything that happened once we get everyone settled. Now, did you tell the chamberlain we were bringing back guests?"  
  
Teela found herself wondering at the dynamics of the situation since Captain Seahawk was carrying the princess, not Adam, who was her brother. She didn't have time to answer his question, as the chamberlain came hurrying forward, "Welcome home, your highness!"  
  
"Tell me, Andrinous, did you get chambers ready for our guests?" Adam asked, moving quickly in the direction of the residence suites.  
  
"Yes, your highness," the chamberlain replied, flustered by the sight of the prince carrying the unconscious woman in his arms and the stranger carrying the Princess Adora, of all things.  
  
"Which rooms, Andrinous?" Adam asked, never breaking stride. Teela was so unused to seeing Adam take charge that she could only follow along in his wake.  
  
"Ah - uhm-" Andrinous stuttered. "Your highness-"  
  
"Andrinous, I am not He-Man, I do not have the strength to hold Miss Cameron in my arms all day. Now, which suites did you set aside for my sister and our guests?" Adam said with a wry note in his voice.  
  
Teela frowned and wondered at the tone and looked to her father for a possible explanation. He looked at her with a smile just barely turning up the corners of his mouth like he knew what Adam was talking about, but he didn't say anything either. She really hated it when people left her out of the loop. How was she supposed to do her job of protecting the royal family if they went haring off on their own and didn't tell her what was going on?  
  
"Ah -" she tuned back in on what Andrinous was saying, "Your highness, I gave the Princess her usual suite. As for Miss Cameron, I gave her the rosewood suite and, ah -"  
  
"Captain Seahawk," Adam supplied, never slowing down, forcing the chamberlain to move at a faster pace than he thought was decorous.  
  
"Yes. Captain Seahawk," Andrinous paused for a moment to look back over his should at the also strangely attired man who carried the princess.  
  
Seahawk returned the man's stare, cradling Adora in his arms. His posture was a clear statement for the chamberlain not to say anything.  
  
Teela could just hear the thoughts that were running through the chamberlain's head. He clearly wondered what type of captain Seahawk was and what right did he have to be carrying the Princess Adora of all people. She stifled the laugh that threatened at seeing the chamberlain so discomfited. He had been the terror of her and Adam's childhood. He had always been the one to find them when they were in some part of the palace that they shouldn't be and doing something they shouldn't be - like shirking lessons.  
  
Adam gave the chamberlain an irked look that to Teela meant that Adam was loosing his patience. Adam, loosing his patience, she thought, with more than a little shock. He never lost his patience! He was always charming and super polite to the palace servants.  
  
"Ah - Captain Seahawk - I placed him in the Birnamwood Suite, your highness," Andrinous finally managed to get out.  
  
Adam nodded his approval, for the suites mentioned were all in the wing along with his suite. "Great, Andrinous. That will work perfectly."  
  
"Thank you, your highness, " Andrinous answered with a slight bow. "Is there anything else you require, your highness?"  
  
Adam shook his head, "I don't think so, but thank you anyways, Andrinous."  
  
Teela found herself shocked once more as her father stepped forward to summon one of the royal guardsman.  
  
"Here," he said to the guardsman. "You can carry Miss Cameron here for Prince Adam and take her to the Rosewood Suite."  
  
"Yes, Man-At-Arms," the guardsman said with a smart salute before taking the limp form into his arms.  
  
Andrionous was seriously concerned by the fact that one of the royal family's guests and the Princess Adora were not only in the most wretched of clothing, but also unconscious. "Your highness, should I summon the healers?"  
  
"No, Andrinous," Adam answered with a shake of his head, flexing his arms tiredly. "It's not necessary. My sister and Miss Cameron are merely sleeping now. The Sorceress of Grayskull already healed their injuries."  
  
Man At Arms turned summoned another royal guardsman to carry Adora, "Here, you carry the Princess Adora to her suite."  
  
The guardsman stepped forward and relieved a reluctant Seahawk of his precious package. He walked next to the guardsman, his eyes never leaving Adora for long. Another long grandly decorated hallway, a turn around one corner, then through a set of doors with guardsman stationed outside of them that snapped to attention at their approach, and down yet another long hallway that had a different design theme to it than the other hallways they had traversed finally brought them to the suites.  
  
Seahawk took it all in with his pirate's eye for appreciating wealth, while still keeping an eye on Adora. He made a mental note of their route in order to get back to the courtyard and wondered where the king and queen's suite was in relation to the formal dining room and the throne room.  
  
The first suite was the one the chamberlain had assigned to Chelsea and then just down and across the hall was Adora's, which was right next to Adam's and Seahawk's was at the far end of the cluster. Man-At-Arms directed the guard carrying Chelsea to put her down on the bed in her suite where Teela hurriedly pulled the covers back out of the way. Adam left Man-At-Arms while Chelsea as Teela followed him back out to the hallway. He nodded to Seahawk and the other guard; "Follow me."  
  
Leaving Teela and a dumbfounded Andrinous in his wake, he showed the guard carrying Adora where to put her down.  
  
Seahawk waited until the guard was gone before asking Adam some questions, "Why do I get the impression that folks around here aren't used to seeing you take charge?"  
  
Adam gave a half-laugh and answered, "Because they aren't and that is a really long story in and of itself."  
  
Seahawk shook his head, "Is everything a long story when it comes to your family?"  
  
"Families are often complicated and mine, it seems, is more so than most," Adam answered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know you're going to want to sit with Adora until she wakes up, but if you want to stretch out for a few hours on a real bed, your quarters are just across the hall - last door on the right."  
  
"I'm good, but thanks anyway," Seahawk answered, his attention focused back on Adora once more.  
  
"Now I've got to go satisfy Teela's curiosity before she takes her staff to me," Adam said, a wry smile on his face.  
  
"Good luck. She looked like she was ready to lay into you something fierce when we landed," Seahawk commented, pulling a chair from the sitting room to take up his watching position at Adora's side.  
  
Adam came back out of Adora's quarters and found Andrinous still there, hovering in the corridor, wondering what else he could do and still looking for an explanation on what had happened. He was trying to get an answer out of Teela on what to do for the evening meal.  
  
"It's been a really long day, Andrinous. I'm not even sure what time is here, since it was late evening when we left Earth." He said, rubbing his face, the caffeine and adrenaline having worn off somewhere between Castle Grayskull and the walk back to his wing of the palace. He could feel Teela staring at him, but he really didn't care at this point. "I know Chef Allen is probably cooking a huge feast, but I don't think that any of us are going to be up for it tonight, including my parents."  
  
"Well, what do you want me to tell Chef Allen, your highness?" Andrinous had his mouth pursed, a clear indication of his displeasure.  
  
Adam dared to look over his shoulder at Teela, a hint of a smile on his face. It seemed that no matter what, Andrinous found something to be displeased about. That was one thing that had never changed from their childhood. He turned back to the chamberlain and said, "Give Chef Allen my apologies, along with those of my parents and ask him if he would simply prepare trays for myself, Captain Seahawk and my parents."  
  
"Yes, Prince Adam, but what about the Princess Adora and Miss Cameron?" Andrinous asked.  
  
"I think that they will sleep until morning," Adam replied. "But, if they do awaken, I am sure that there will be plenty of leftovers for them."  
  
"Yes, your highness," Andrinous said with a stiff bow before turning and heading off towards the kitchens.  
  
"Come on, Teela, let's go talk to your father," Adam said, the tired smile back on his face once more.  
  
"Why?" she asked, falling into step beside him.  
  
"Because, " he said, heading towards Chelsea's suite where he had left Duncan, "I'm only going to tell the story once."  
  
"Well, in that case." Teela said as she entered the room right behind him.  
  
Man-At-Arms emerged from the bedroom of the suite and slid the door shut behind him. "What happened? I know why and how you and the Queen went to Earth, but not what went wrong there."  
  
"We got to Earth and walked through the portal, literally, into a blizzard," Adam began as he grabbed a chair and sat down.  
  
The telling of the tale took time and longer with questions from both Teela and Man-At-Arms. At the end of it, Adam was rubbing his eyes and smothering yawns.  
  
The three sat in the sitting room of Chelsea's suite, and Adam sat there picking at the food on the tray the servants had delivered while he had been relaying the events of what had happened on Earth. After burying yet another yawn, Man-At-Arms looked sharply at Adam.  
  
"You're dead on your feet, Adam," Duncan stated. "Go on, go get some rest."  
  
For once, Teela didn't argue about that, for even she could see the weariness on Adam's face.  
  
"But, someone should stay here with Chelsea so she doesn't wake up totally confused -" Adam tried to protest, but ended up yawning and not being able to hold it back.  
  
Teela surprised both her father and Adam by saying, "I'll stay. I've got a bunch of reports I need to catch up on anyway and this gives me time to get them done."  
  
"Are you sure, Teela?" Duncan asked, looking closely at his daughter.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure," Teela answered, watching Adam fight to hold back another yawn.  
  
"Teela," Adam started and had to pause as another yawn broke out, "Thanks. I appreciate it." Adam stood up and stretched, heading slowly for the door.  
  
Duncan turned back to his daughter after the prince had left, "Can I get you anything since you're going to stay here?"  
  
"Could you bring me my datapad, Father? It's got all the reports I need to work on in it," Teela answered, standing up herself and picking up the chair she was sitting in to place it in the bedroom of the suite and keep an eye on the sleeping guest.  
  
Across the hall, Adam was almost bowled over by Cringer when he entered his suite. "I'm sorry, Cringe, you just wouldn't fit in on Earth, no matter what."  
  
Cringer head-butted him and purred all the louder, glad to have his master home. Adam laughed and gave the tiger another scritch behind the ears before making himself move forward towards his bathroom. A hot shower sounded really good about now to help loosen up the muscles that had tightened up with the hours of sitting in those uncomfortable hospital chairs after the day of hard skiing. After the shower, he barely dried off before crashing face first into his bed for some well-earned sleep.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Across the gardens in their suite, Marlena and Randor were enjoying a quiet reunion.  
  
"You don't know how scared I was when Duncan told me you were gone," Randor said as he sat on a couch in their private quarters with her curled up next to him.  
  
"Why?" Marlena asked, her head on his shoulder and one hand on his sternum. "I was afraid that you would decide you wanted to stay there," Randor admitted.  
  
"Oh, my dear, foolish husband," Marlena said softly, tilting her head up to plant a kiss along his jawline. "Eternia is my home now. I couldn't go back to Earth to stay."  
  
"I know that, logically." Randor admitted, placing a kiss on the top of his wife's head.  
  
"Eternia has been my home since the day I crashed here. It took me a while to figure it out, but I was certain of it when I married you, certain of it when you ascended to the throne, certain of it when I found out I was pregnant, and even more certain of it when I gave birth to two wonderful children all those years ago," Marlena answered, lifting her head up to stare into her husband's eyes and convince him. "Never once have I really wanted to return back to Earth. My home, my heart and my family are here now."  
  
Randor's heart lightened considerably. "Certain of it that long, hrm?"  
  
"Yes, my sweet and truly foolish husband," Marlena said and pulled his head down for a better kiss.  
  
The rest of their conversation took place later, much later in the evening. 


	13. Chapter 12 Take a Straight and Stronger...

Chapter XII  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Late in the evening at the royal palace, Man-At-Arms slowly walked the corridors of the palace. The royal family was reunited for the moment with both the children of the king and queen home now, much to the relief of his king. The guards were on their usual patrols around the palace and it was proving to be a quiet night. With a private smile, he recollected Adam's handling of their arrival today. Not a wasted movement and very smooth handling of Andrinous. It also stopped Teela before she could work up into a full rant about his taking off with the queen and not taking any of the guards with him. He made a turn at one of the crossways and headed away from the public part of the palace towards the residence wings. It was getting quite late and he knew that his daughter had a training session with some of the new recruits in the morning. She would need her rest in order to keep from tearing into them too badly.  
  
Eventually, his steps led him to the suite assigned to Chelsea. He entered the room and found Chelsea still sound asleep, not really having moved from when she had been placed in the bed. Teela was drooping in the chair next to the bed, her head nodding on her chest and the datapad lying forgotten on the floor next to her.  
  
"Teela," he said as he approached her.  
  
She jerked awake, eyes clouded with sleep, "Huh?"  
  
"Go to bed," he gently ordered, bending down to pick up her forgotten datapad. He straightened back up and tugged her to her feet.  
  
"But..." Teela said around a yawn.  
  
"I'll sit here. I don't have anything urgent awaiting me in the morning," Duncan commented, giving her a push towards the door.  
  
Teela yawned again, too tired to argue the matter with him. She turned back and brushed a kiss on his cheek, "Good night, Father."  
  
"Good night," Duncan answered, settling himself down into the chair that his daughter had just vacated.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
The first rays of dawn were just breaking over the horizon when Adora began to awake. Her first vague thought was that the bed she was laying in was entirely too comfortable to be in the Whispering Woods. As she became more aware, her sense of smell discerned floral scents nearby, but nothing woodsy. She could feel the linens covering her and tried to remember if her quarters at Castle Blackmoore had been as luxurious feeling. She knew for certain that she wasn't in her quarters at Castle Blackmoore when the morning sun began shining right in her eyes. She rolled onto her side, turning her back to the sun, not quite willing to awaken the rest of the way yet. That was when her ears registered the sounds of someone else breathing deeply not too far from her.  
  
Wait a second; her brain skidded to a halt. She had gone to sleep alone at Castle Blackmoore and. she couldn't remember what had happened next. Adora drew a complete blank and her brow knitted in puzzlement as she tried to recall what happened. Her eyes opened and as things began to come into focus visually, she realized she was in her bedroom on Eternia.  
  
Adora located the source of the deep breathing as belonging to Seahawk. There he was with his chin on his chest, slumped asleep in the chair next to her bed. The morning sun hit his hair, making it gleam like polished copper. She took in the strange clothes he was dressed in - black pants of a thick woven material, a black knit shirt with a strange high collar and long sleeves that were pushed up past his elbows. Adora noticed a knit mound on the floor at the foot of the chair and Seahawk's legs were stretched out in front of him, his ankles crossed and strange, heavy boots on his feet that also bespoke of a colder climate. Colder climate? What had happened? Why did it seem like he was keeping watch over her?  
  
She turned her retrospection inward and closed her eyes for a moment. She opened the link between her and Adam. He was still sound asleep but drifting towards consciousness when she figuratively reached out and touched him on the shoulder. He was waking up when she shifted again in the luxurious bed, this time, pulling herself into a sitting position. It was then she noticed that she was wearing some sort of institutional style gown. She was just full of questions now for her brother and Seahawk.  
  
Sensing her regard, Seahawk finally awoke to see her sitting up in the bed. "Adora, you're awake!"  
  
"Yes, I am," she answered, a smile curving her lips. "And, I have a few questions, since I seem to have a large gap in my memory right now."  
  
She felt, rather than heard Adam's entrance into the outer room of her suite and stated, "For instance, I'd like to know how I ended up here and dressed in this?" She plucked at the gown she was wearing as Adam entered the bedroom.  
  
"And, good morning to you too, Sis," he said by way of greeting.  
  
"I seem to have a few holes in my memory, brother dear," she said with a hint of impatience.  
  
"Morning, Seahawk," Adam nodded to Seahawk before turning back to his sister, "How much do you remember?"  
  
"Not a lot past going to sleep at Castle Blackmoore." Adora admitted. "How much time am I missing here?"  
  
"About four days," Seahawk answered, rubbing a hand over his face as if the time had been too long.  
  
"Four days?" Adora questioned incredulously, her blue eyes going wide with surprise.  
  
"Yeah, about that much," Adam admitted with a shrug. "Look, it's a long story and I bet you're starving about now. So, why don't I go get Chef Allen to send over some trays and I'll help fill in the blanks over breakfast?"  
  
Adora thought for a moment before cautiously agreeing, "All right, I'll wait for now."  
  
"I promise, I'll be back just as soon as I can," Adam answered. With another nod to Seahawk he turned and left.  
  
"How can I be missing four days?" Adora turned her attention back to Seahawk.  
  
"I don't know, but they have been the longest four days," Seahawk answered feverently.  
  
"What happened, Hawk?" Adora narrowed her eyes at him. "Everything is jumbled and blurry."  
  
"I agree with your brother," Seahawk replied, moving to sit on the edge of the bed next to her. "It's a long story that will take time to tell."  
  
"Now, does it explain why you're in those strange clothes?" Adora questioned, putting a hand on his arm.  
  
"Yes, it does," was the answer as he leaned his head in closer to hers. "They're from Queen Angella."  
  
"They are, are they?" she asked, leaning towards him.  
  
"Yes," he breathed before capturing her mouth for a kiss.  
  
"Mmm," Adora murmured some moments later, finding herself wrapped in Seahawk's arms. "As much as I wouldn't mind continuing this, I'm afraid my brother is due back at any moment."  
  
"Your family is awfully complicated," Seahawk remarked, not letting her out of his arms.  
  
Adora chuckled and agreed, "That it is, Hawk, that it is." She leaned into his embrace for a few seconds longer before leaning back. "I want to get a shower and get into some of my own clothes before Adam gets back."  
  
"I don't suppose." Seahawk teased her, leaning back on the edge of the bed.  
  
"No, absolutely not!" Adora exclaimed, her fair skin showing a blush staining her cheeks. "Adam is on his way back as it is."  
  
Adora didn't explain about how she was afraid that having Adam in such close proximity might not allow her to 'turn off' their link, as it were and not let him overhear any thoughts that she really didn't want to share with him. Determined to cover her embarrassment, she tossed back the covers and go to her feet, only to have Seahawk put a steadying hand under her elbow as she found her legs quite rubbery.  
  
"What have I been doing for the past four days to feel like a newborn foal just learning to walk?" Adora asked with a sharp look to Seahawk. She had vague memories swirling in her head and couldn't make sense of it all.  
  
"Sleeping, mostly," Seahawk answered, keeping a hand under her elbow until he was certain of her balance.  
  
"What?" she gasped, her head jerking to look at him once more.  
  
"Do you want to get your shower first, or keep asking me what happened when Adam knows much better than I do what happened?" Seahawk answered, a faint grin evident on his face.  
  
"Oh, all right, I'll wait," Adora grumbled, accepting his hand under her elbow until she felt her legs become steady under her. She was determined to get that shower in before Adam got back with the food. It took her a few moments to find the right outfit to wear, since most of what she had filling the closet were formal court or royal function clothes. Something she had no use for on Etheria in her role as a leader of the rebellion. Finding the right outfit, she gathered up the other necessary items and determinedly made it into the shower on her own.  
  
When she emerged a short time later, dressed in a flowing white blouse with a short collar and baggy sleeves, over which she wore a buttoned aquamarine vest with two false pockets on the front with matching pants in the same jewel tones. She had a towel draped over her shoulders that she was using to towel dry her hair. Adam had returned while she was in the shower and was talking with Seahawk in the sitting room. As she walked over to them, there was a discreet knock at the outer door.  
  
"Enter," Adam called out, before Adora could say anything, earning him a look from her.  
  
It turned out to be one of the servants pushing a cart covered with silver domed trays. With a bow, the servant pulled the lids off the trays, revealing a wide selection of foods. The aromas set Adora's stomach to grumbling, leaving her to wonder how long it had been since she had eaten, since she was suddenly quite famished.  
  
"Did you want me to serve, Prince Adam?" the servant asked.  
  
"No thank you, we'll be fine on our own," Adam answered.  
  
"Very well then," the servant answered with another bow. "If you'll excuse, Prince Adam, Princess Adora, Captain Seahawk," He turned on his heel and left the room.  
  
Adam waited until they were all seated with plates heaped with food before posing the question he had asked Adora earlier, "How much do you remember?"  
  
Adora swallowed the bite of pastry she had before saying, "I'm starting to remember things, but it seems all disoriented and disconnected. I remember stopping at Castle Blackmoore for the night. . . then it gets a bit blurred from there. Tell me this, there was a Horde attack on the castle, wasn't there?"  
  
"Yes, there was," Seahawk answered in grim tones.  
  
Things started to click into place more for Adora. She closed her eyes in thought as she took another bite out of her pastry. "All right," she said after a moment. "So, if the Horde attacked Blackmoore, were they looking specifically for me or were they just trying to retake the castle?"  
  
"I don't know for certain, but I think they were after you or She-Ra," Adam answered, swallowing a bite of eggs. He ignored the pleading looks from Cringer for any of the breakfast spread.  
  
Adora frowned and finished her pastry with a thoughtful expression. "Yes, they were after me or She-Ra. I have a fuzzy memory of Hordak telling me that." She turned her gaze to Seahawk, "How did you get to the battle so fast? Gailsbreath is still a distance to cover from Blackmoore."  
  
"Our pendants, remember?" Seahawk said simply. "It went off like a beacon on a foggy night and I was on the road when Spirit found me."  
  
"Spirit? How did he get loose?" Adora wondered.  
  
"I don't know," Seahawk answered with a shrug,  
  
"Do you know, Adam?" Adora asked her brother next.  
  
"Sorry Sis, I don't," Adam replied. "I didn't know anything was really wrong until later on."  
  
Adora rubbed her temples, trying to put things more together. "Everything is so jumbled. . ."  
  
"I'm not surprised, Sis. You took not only one, but two hard knocks to the head in the last few days.  
  
"This happened on Etheria?" Adora questioned, then corrected herself. "No, it didn't. . ."  
  
"Right," Adam answered, finishing off a piece of toast.  
  
"I remember being cold..." Adora said slowly. She looked back to Seahawk and said, "You came after me? Is that why you're in those strange clothes? How?"  
  
"Yes, I came after you," Seahawk answered, polishing off the pastry on his plate.  
  
Her eyes widened as a memory fell into place, "You were shot! Hordak shot you! Are you all right?"  
  
"Thanks to Queen Angella, I am," Seahawk assured her, reaching out a hand to stroke her cheek.  
  
"How did you find me? Where was I?" Adora questioned impatiently, looking back and forth between her brother and Seahawk.  
  
"Mother and I knew where you were right away due to the Sorceress," Adam began.  
  
Seahawk continued, "It took Queen Angella a few days to track you via our pendants from our end on Etheria."  
  
"You were on Earth, Sis," Adam picked up, then took a quick bite before the next barrage of questions.  
  
"Earth?" Adora was stunned. "How by all the ancients did I end up on Earth?"  
  
"Some twist in Shadoweaver's spell is all I can figure," Adam answered with a shrug.  
  
"Wait just a second here - you said Mother and you?" Adora focused in one what her brother had said just a few moments earlier.  
  
"Yes..." Adam started to answer but never got a chance as the hallway door opened without warning and Queen Marlena swept in, looking every inch a queen again with her hair up in a twist and her crown settled in place on top of it.  
  
Seahawk bolted to his feet and bowed deeply to her, "Your Majesty."  
  
Adam and Adora also rose to their feet and Adora found herself wrapped up in her mother's arms.  
  
"You're all right," the queen said, assuring herself that her daughter was indeed whole and hale.  
  
"Mother," Adora answered, finding herself so very glad to see her. Something told her that it had been a close call in not seeing her ever again.  
  
The queen let go of her daughter and studied her for a moment before saying, "Your father will be here shortly, but I figured I'd stop by first to help Adam and Seahawk here answer the questions I'm sure you're peppering them with."  
  
Adam smothered a laugh, earning him a glance from his mother.  
  
"Now, why don't you sit down and let us tell the story before you drive your captain and your brother crazy here," Marlena wave a hand towards the breakfast spread in front of them. She fixed her son with a steady gaze and said, "Do remember your etiquette, Adam, and fetch me a chair."  
  
Adam smirked and said, "Yes, Mother."  
  
Adora and Seahawk both stood until Adam returned with a chair he brought out of the bedroom for her.  
  
Marlena nodded at Seahawk as she addressed Adora, "I like him, dear. He knows his manners."  
  
Adora's fair skin gave her away and flushed red. She paid a great deal of attention to her plate for a moment while she distinctly heard another smothered laugh from Adam. She narrowed her eyes and thought at him, ::Just wait - your turn will come, brother dearest!::  
  
"Now dear, are you ready to hear the story before you keep interrupting your brother and the good captain with more questions than they can answer at one time?" the queen gently teased her daughter.  
  
"Yes, Mother," Adora said on a sigh.  
  
"Now, I suppose I should start at the beginning, since it seems the Sorceress, Chelsea and myself all had the same nightmare about you falling into Hordak's trap," Marlena said, settling in the chair with legs crossed and her gown draped over the cushion of the chair.  
  
"Chelsea?" Adora questioned, clearly trying to place the name. It came to her with a snap. "Chelsea - is she all right?"  
  
"She's asleep still, but remember - no questions until the end, please," Marlena commented.  
  
Seahawk listened quietly as well, having never heard the part on the three women having a nightmare about that battle.  
  
"I woke up knowing you were in trouble, but couldn't 'reach' you to find out why. I was standing on my balcony when I saw mother cutting through the gardens heading for the motor pool..." Adam picked up the tale from his point of view. "Then, the Sorceress contacted me and told me to bring Mother to Castle Grayskull."  
  
And so it went - Marlena, Adam and Seahawk all took turns helping Adora fill in the blanks in her memory. She did have questions at the end of it all and Chelsea, who was still asleep, or the Sorceress of Grayskull could only answer those.  
  
Barely before they had answered all the questions they could, King Randor then swept in.  
  
Seahawk scrambled to his feet, brushing the crumbs from his lap as he stood and bowed to the king. "Your Majesty."  
  
Randor waved off the formality, "No need for that here," as he caught his daughter up in a bear hug. "Adora!" he exclaimed with much relief evident in his voice. "You wouldn't believe the fright I had when I found out that not only were you in trouble, but that your brother and mother had gone after you."  
  
"It wasn't what I had in mind for a vacation," Adora commented, keeping her emotions in check. She was still getting used to having a family, much less having parents who worried about her.  
  
Randor finally let her go and turned to his son and grasping him hard, "I think you and your sister are looking to give me more gray hair than anything else."  
  
Adam carefully answered, "It wasn't what I had planned either. Being cooped up because of the weather and not being able to get to Adora when she was hurt wasn't my idea of fun."  
  
Randor studied him carefully for another moment longer, as if looking for a deeper meaning.  
  
Adora wanted to say something, it was on the tip of her tongue, but it wasn't time to give their parents that bit of news. That discussion would have to wait until a future time - a much further in the future time. She worried her lower lip as her father turned to Seahawk. She loved her parents desperately, but she also loved Seahawk. She didn't want to think about what she would do if he didn't approve of Seahawk.  
  
Randor held out a hand to Seahawk and said, "Captain Seahawk, I understand you tried to stop Hordak before his witch could complete her vile spell on Adora?"  
  
"Yes, sir, I tried," Seahawk said with chagrin. "I didn't succeed, unfortunately."  
  
"From what my wife tells me, it wasn't like you had much of a chance alone against Hordak. I wouldn't want to face him without someone like He-Man at my side," Randor said, clearly sizing the man up.  
  
Adora didn't miss the flash of guilt from Adam, even though he kept his face neutral. ::Things happened too fast for any of us to do anything other than just react. There was no time.:: She sent his way.  
  
Seahawk looked like he wanted to protest, but Randor was ahead of him. "Don't try to protest you didn't do enough, Captain Seahawk. Hordak is a piece of work and not someone to tangle with lightly. I can't thank you enough for trying to stop him."  
  
"I didn't succeed, your majesty..." Seahawk was a bit bewildered.  
  
"You succeeded in tracking her to where Shadoweaver's spell sent her to and then after finding her, you got word to my wife and son here on where you were. Despite what you think, you didn't fail, Captain Seahawk. Your timing was impeccable," Randor continued on. "Without you, it probably would have taken them too long to find Adora and Chelsea."  
  
"I didn't do it alone, your majesty," Seahawk back-pedaled, clearly not wanting to take credit for something that was not all his doing. "Queen Angella of Brightmoon and Castaspella of Mystacore were the ones who did the searching with their combined magics."  
  
Not being able to really see her father's face, Adora didn't know what her father was thinking. He was testing Seahawk, she was sure of it and being damn crafty about it too.  
  
::Don't worry, Sis. He's not growling. Seahawk's safe for now.:: Adam teased her over their link.  
  
Adora all but choked and earned a raised eyebrow from her mother. Her family did more to continually throw her off balance than anything else.  
  
"Tell me this, Captain Seahawk, just how did you and Adora meet in the first place?" Randor asked.  
  
Adam took a quick look at their father's face before signaling Adora, ::Watch out, he's gone into interrogator mode.::  
  
Adora's back went stiff and she feared how this would turn out.  
  
Seahawk knew that as innocuous as the question might be, it had a whole other layer of meaning to it. He chose his words carefully, "We met, your majesty, when I caught her spying on me."  
  
"Spying on you?" Randor questioned and looked back to Adora for confirmation.  
  
Adora nodded and supplied, "Yes, the villagers of Gailsbreath had approached me because there were various reports of some new flying thing harrying the coastline. They thought it might be some sort of sea monster and asked She-Ra and I to check it out." She knew that Seahawk well enough now to see the slight wince he covered before Randor turned back his way.  
  
"And why," Randor questioned, giving Seahawk his full attention again, "did they think that?"  
  
"Because I was using it as a cover in order to raid the Elves' warehouses and deliver supplies to the Horde," Seahawk admitted.  
  
"You were what?!" Randor's eyebrows shot up and his voice jumped in volume to a near shout.  
  
"I foolishly thought that I could stay neutral - be free, make my mark - by only delivering supplies to the Horde." Seahawk answered truthfully.  
  
"The Horde let you remain neutral?" Randor was practically incredulous. "Don't you know that's just not possible?"  
  
"I learned. The hard way," Seahawk admitted and looked down for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck before continuing, "Even though I did join the rebellion, I was still too focused on getting treasure. It cost me my ship. It nearly cost me my crew and I was almost too late to rescue Adora from Admiral Scurvy."  
  
Randor looked back to Adora for an explanation.  
  
Adora gave her parents a carefully edited version of the events. Trying to explain to them how she'd gotten stunned by Scurvy and fallen a good distance off Swiftwind's back to crash on the deck of Scurvy's destroyer - that was never going to happen. "Admiral Scurvy laid a trap that destroyed the Solar Sailor and netted not only Seahawk's crew, but myself as well. I was a prisoner onboard his ship, headed for the Fright Zone when Seahawk rescued me."  
  
Adam sent her, ::That's putting it rather mildly, Sis.::  
  
::Do you tell him everything that happens when you fight Skeletor?:: Adora shot back with a glare.  
  
::What do you think?:: was the answer.  
  
::I know you tell them even less than I do in that regard,:: Adora said with some heat.  
  
Marlena buried a smile behind a hand as she looked at her children, seemingly aware of their argument.  
  
Randor turned back to Seahawk with a raised eyebrow and something of a new understanding of Adora's life on Etheria.  
  
"You lost your ship in a Horde trap?"  
  
"Yes, your majesty," Seahawk answered.  
  
"Hrmph," Randor said and was quiet for a moment.  
  
Marlena moved over to her husband's side and placed a hand on his arm. "Randor, dear, give him a break."  
  
Adam exchanged another quick thought with Adora, ::Looks like this round goes to Mom.::  
  
::I think so,:: Adora returned, watching her parents closely.  
  
Randor harrumphed again and acceded to his wife.  
  
"You have much, I'm sure, that needs your attention," Marlena shifted his attention away from grilling Seahawk.  
  
"Hrmph," Randor again made a non-committal noise.  
  
"Come along and let them finish eating in peace," Marlena said in a voice with hidden steel.  
  
Adora watched in amazement as her father gave in.  
  
"I'm sure my desk is full of items needing my attention by now," he admitted, shifting his weight back to the heels of his feet.  
  
"Then why don't you go get a start on it while I check in on Chelsea?" Marlena suggested. She turned her attention to Adam, "What plans do you have for the day?"  
  
"None, so far," Adam admitted, hoping that Skeletor would remain quiet for a few more days yet while Adora and Seahawk were on Eternia.  
  
Adora clearly thinking along the same lines as her brother said, "I should get word back to Queen Angella and let her know that I'm okay."  
  
"Of course you should," Marlena agreed and with a nod to Seahawk, she turned her attention back to Randor. "Come, my king, you have state business to attend to."  
  
Randor grumbled and gave in, seeing as how she was not going to let him continue his interrogation. "Good day, Captain Seahawk."  
  
"Good day, your majesty," Seahawk answered with a deep bow.  
  
Before she could process it, Adora found herself wrapped in her father's arms again. "By the ancients! I'm glad you're home safely, Adora!"  
  
He turned to Adam, "You did a great job, Adam, keeping your mother safe and finding Adora."  
  
Adam all but glowed under the praise, "I could do nothing less, Father."  
  
Adora kept quiet, knowing that Adam carried the more difficult role of having to play the foolish prince in order to hide his actions as He-Man.  
  
A look from Marlena before she took her leave with Randor had Adora turning to Adam full of speculation.  
  
::What was that all about?:: Adora quickly asked Adam.  
  
::She suspects and was grilling me about it on Earth.:: Adam linked back.  
  
::What?:: Adora was caught flat-footed with surprise.  
  
::Not now. We'll talk more later,:: Adam answered. "Go, Mom," he commented with a grin, sitting back down.  
  
"I didn't think I was going to get out of here alive," Seahawk answered wryly.  
  
"I've never seen Father that fierce before," Adora said as she regained her seat.  
  
Adam laughed and explained, "C'mon, Sis, you think our father is going to approve of anyone you bring home?"  
  
"Well..." Adora began.  
  
"He's going to relish his role as the over-protective father since he didn't get to do it while you were growing up," Adam stated, getting a fresh piece of toast from under one of the domed platters.  
  
Seahawk shook his head in disbelief. "It didn't sink in until now that you really are a princess, Adora."  
  
That got a smile and a laugh out of her, "There are times I certainly have a hard time believing it myself."  
  
"Now, how did you end up on Etheria anyway?" I know you've told me you grew up under Horde control..."  
  
Adora filled her plate with fresh fruit and began, "Around the time that Adam and I were born, the Horde was trying to invade Eternia..."  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Marlena shooed her husband off towards his office before stopping in to check on Chelsea.  
  
Man-At-Arms was just standing up when she entered the room. He painfully tried to bow, only to have Marlena wave him off.  
  
"Stop that, Duncan," she said with a smile. "We're both too old for you to be bowing to me when you've slept in a chair all night."  
  
"Yes, my queen," Duncan said, straightened back up, wincing. "Sleeping in chairs is best left to the young."  
  
"Don't tell me you were here all night?" Marlena questioned with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"No, " Duncan admitted, looking over to where Chelsea hadn't stirred all night. "Teela chased Adam off to sleep after he told us what happened. I took over somewhere near midnight."  
  
"Oh, Duncan, you shouldn't have," Marlena chided.  
  
"Teela had a training session with the new recruits this morning-" Duncan began.  
  
"And, you didn't want to unleash something almost as frightening as Skeletor on them?" Marlena finished with a small smile. Teela lived up to the stereotype of having a hot redheaded temper  
  
"Something like that," Duncan admitted, rolling his shoulders to get the stiffness out of them.  
  
Marlena sat down on the edge of the bed and looked over at Chelsea, "Has she even stirred?"  
  
"Nothing," Duncan admitted. "It's almost like she's in a coma."  
  
"She's not, but I wonder..." Marlena answered, her eyes still on the still form of the young woman who had saved her daughter. "I'll send one of the healers to check her over as soon as I check in on Randor. In the meantime, I don't think she's going to wake up any time soon. Something the Sorceress said yesterday leads me to believe that Chelsea is probably even more drained after that healing than the Sorceress was."  
  
Duncan nodded in agreement, "I would say you're probably right."  
  
"Now, tell me this, Duncan, how bad was my husband while I was gone?" Marlena said, turning her attention back to him.  
  
"Your majesty?" Duncan asked, taken off guard.  
  
"Please, don't you go all formal on me of all people, Duncan," Marlena pleaded with a hand held up.  
  
"All right then, Marlena," Duncan gave in, stretching his arms out in front of him to work out more of the kinks he had from sleeping in the chair. "What can I say?"  
  
"Just tell me, how much did he ignore while we were gone?"  
  
"Nothing that couldn't wait," Duncan said evasively.  
  
"Duncan..."  
  
"Honestly, Marlena. It truly was nothing that couldn't wait," Duncan answered.  
  
"Did he even hold court?" Marlena questioned with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"No," Duncan admitted.  
  
"No?" Marlena questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Did he even give any explanation on why, Duncan?"  
  
Duncan looked sheepish on behalf of his king, "No, he didn't."  
  
Marlena laughed softly. "I love my husband, but there are times..." She looked over to Chelsea who hadn't moved an inch from being put into the bed the afternoon before it seemed. "Go on, Duncan. I know you have better things to do than sitting here. Send one of the junior healers over to keep an eye on her and I'll go see how far behind my husband truly is."  
  
"Yes, my queen," Duncan said with a short bow.  
  
"Oh, stop that, Duncan," Marlena laughed. I don't expect you to do that in private. I have more people to fawn over me as Queen Marlena than I know what to do with, and I don't need it from you too."  
  
"Then you shouldn't have married a king," Duncan teased.  
  
"Well, I didn't know that he was going to be a king when you and he rescued me from the wreckage of my ship," Marlena answered. "Is it too late to run away from being queen?"  
  
"I would have to say yes in that respect," Duncan replied.  
  
Marlena laughed, "Yes, it is too late. Not like I ever wanted to, really, everything and everyone that matters is here now." She leaned over and brushed a hand across Chelsea's brow, who didn't stir at the light touch. A slightly worried look crossed her face before she turned back to Duncan and stood up. "Come, Duncan, you can escort the queen to see her king."  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Duncan did escort Marlena to Randor's office - by taking the long way and being very formal every inch of the way. It was all a show to the courtiers who found numerous reasons to plant themselves in their way. No one openly questioned the queen on her whereabouts for the past handful of days, but they were all openly curious.  
  
Marlena was every inch the gracious Queen; she spoke to the courtiers who placed themselves in her path but avoided answering on her sudden and unexplained disappearance. She did answer that yes, her daughter, the Princess Adora was currently visiting from Etheria. More than that, she didn't say and Man-At-Arms always stepped in at that time to say that the king was expecting them in his office. It was a well-executed ploy that worked every time. The courtiers immediately would move out of the way then, and the two would again make progress towards their destination.  
  
They kept up the charade until they finally made it into Randor's office, where Marlena laughed delightedly as she moved to her husband's side and placed a kiss on his cheek.  
  
Randor looked up from the piles he was sorting on his desk with a quirked eyebrow towards his wife and his man-at-arms. "Should I even ask?"  
  
"Oh, nothing important, my husband," Marlena answered, looking at the document in his hand. "What stack does that one go in? And, how do you have these organized here?"  
  
Randor answered vaguely, his attention focused on the next document he picked up.  
  
Marlena set the document down and picked up another one, a frown crossing her face as she began to read. She leaned against the edge of the desk her attention caught up in helping her husband sort out the piles and bringing them back down to a manageable level.  
  
Duncan seeing that her attention was now focused on the documents in hand, brought a chair over for her to sit in. "You might want this, my queen."  
  
"Thank you, Duncan," she answered, resettling into it.  
  
"I'll send one of the healers to see you as soon as I can, your majesty," Duncan said, heading for the door.  
  
"Thank you, Duncan," Marlena replied automatically. "Don't forget to get some breakfast while you're at it."  
  
"I won't, Queen Marlena," Duncan said with a half smile and a brief nod of his head.  
  
"Good," she answered, her attention focused once more on the next document she had picked up.  
  
Randor's attention was caught, "Healer? Whyever do you need a healer? You're not sick, are you?" He questioned Marlena.  
  
"No dear, I'm not. I'm just a little worried about Chelsea is all," Marlena assured him, placing the document on a pile and picking up another one.  
  
Seeing the monarchs engrossed in their conversation, Duncan slipped from the room.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Later in the morning, Adora did manage a trip to Castle Grayskull to enlist the Sorceress' aid in getting word back to Queen Angella that she was all right and back on Eternia. When she asked if either she or She-Ra were needed at that time, the Queen assured her that Hordak was blustering, but making no big moves at the current time. Concerned, Adora immediately offered to come back.  
  
"No, Adora. Neither you nor She-Ra need to be here right now. You need to spend time with your family right now after your ordeal," was the strong command from the ruler of Brightmoon.  
  
"But-" Adora was worried.  
  
"No buts, dear. Enjoy the rest of your brief vacation - you've more than earned it," Queen Angella cut her off before she could even voice her intention to return ahead of time. She ended the connection on her end with a smile and a nod to Adora, not letting her get another word in edgewise.  
  
Adora sat back and wondered for a moment how she'd been so outmaneuvered. She shook her head and looked at the Sorceress who merely regarded her with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"I can only suggest you follow what she said, Princess," she said.  
  
"Thanks, Sorceress. I'd better get back before my father decides to interrogate Seahawk again," Adora replied, turning and heading for the massive drawbridge in the mouth of the castle.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Back at the palace, Marlena and Randor looked up when there was a knock at the door to Randor's office.  
  
"Enter," the king answered, setting down the piece of paper he was reading.  
  
The door opened and in walked chief Healer Dorgan and with a young woman in the colors of an apprentice healer accompanying him. The two bowed to the monarchs before Dorgan introduced his apprentice.  
  
"Your Majesties, may I present Alyssa? She's one of the new apprentices and I believe she will do just fine for what Man-At-Arms described," Dorgan said, with a sweep of his hand.  
  
The young woman had raven black hair, secured in a thick braid that was wrapped around the crown of her head. She had a no-nonsense appearance, but a hint of a smile lurked at the corners of her mouth. She bowed again and said, "I'm honored to meet you, your majesties."  
  
Marlena stood up and crossed the room. "Thank you, Dorgan. Did you want to come along and supervise your apprentice here, or do you think she's capable of assuaging my fears without you?"  
  
Dorgan snorted, "I have better things to do with my time than to supervise everyone on my staff, Your Majesties."  
  
"Then, I thank you most graciously for bringing your apprentice Alyssa here yourself," Marlena said with a beguiling smile. She flicked a glance to Alyssa who seemed to understand her actions.  
  
"Yes, my queen," Dorgan said with a bow and turned to the king who still sat at his desk, "If you will excuse me, your majesty, I have work of my own to attend to."  
  
"Good day to you then, Dorgan," Randor said, hiding a smile and nodding to the healer.  
  
Dorgan bowed to both monarchs and left, not quite sure how it had happened, but sure that he had been outwitted by the queen.  
  
Randor turned his attention back to the paperwork on his desk with Marlena's help, the sorting had gone quickly and now he was working on the items that needed his attention first.  
  
Marlena said over her shoulder, "This won't take long. I'll be back shortly."  
  
Randor waved them on, his attention fully taken by the document in hand.  
  
Alyssa bowed to the king before turning to follow Marlena.  
  
"So tell me, how did you end up choosing healing as a profession?"  
  
"I come from a family of healers, your majesty," Alyssa answered, taking long strides to keep up with the queen as they crossed through a doorway and out into the gardens. "There was never any question for me, what I was going to do."  
  
Marlena smiled and said, "I think I know how you feel. How, or why, did you choose to come to the palace to learn your craft?"  
  
Alyssa shrugged, "My uncle. He's the non-healer and was absolutely horrified to learn that I was following in my parents' footsteps. He brought me to court hoping that I would 'see the error of my ways.' He was hoping that I would become a useless courtier - all frills and no real substance."  
  
"Your opinion, I take it," Marlena said wryly as they walked along the garden paths towards a distant wing of the palace.  
  
Alyssa didn't pretend embarrassment by her outspoken statement, "Yes, your majesty. Healing is my calling. I could never be just a courtier looking to marry some lord who would be horrified by the very thought of me 'working' for a living."  
  
Marlena said nothing for a moment before asking, "Who is your uncle that wanted you to become a courtier, my dear?"  
  
"Andrinous, your majesty," Alyssa answered promptly as they turned a corner on the pathway.  
  
Marlena didn't bother to stop the laugh that escaped, "Andrinous?"  
  
"Yes, your majesty," Alyssa replied, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.  
  
"I can see him being horrified that you would choose to be a healer," Marlena commented as they continued to cross the gardens. "He does seem to have a rather defined viewpoint on what he thinks is proper."  
  
Alyssa hid a laugh behind her hand as they approached another doorway on the far side of the gardens. The bright afternoon sun had made the gardens too warm for many of the courtiers to linger in, thus making their time to cut through them short. Probably why the queen had chosen that particular route.  
  
They re-entered the palace and the Queen turned to head down another corridor, before she entered a room on the far end of the grouping of suites.  
  
"How much did Man-At-Arms tell you about what happened, Alyssa?" Marlena asked as the two entered the sitting room.  
  
"He said that the young lady - Miss Cameron? - had been involved in a serious accident elsewhere and that the Sorceress of Grayskull had Healed her injuries," Alyssa answered, right on the queen's heels.  
  
"That's the short version," Marlena replied. "Do you understand what I'm asking?"  
  
"Yes, your majesty," was the prompt answer. "You wanted someone to assure you that there was nothing still wrong with her after the Healing."  
  
"Correct," Marlena answered and paused to see a young chambermaid spring to her feet from the chair at Chelsea's bedside. "Oh!"  
  
The young woman dropped to a curtsey at the site of the queen and said, "Beggin' your pardon, your majesty," the maid said in a rolling country accent. "But, the Prince asked me to stay with Miss Cameron in case she were to wake and be confused."  
  
"Ah, thank you, my dear," the queen answered. She motioned to Alyssa who had come to stand beside her. "This is Healer Alyssa. She's here to tell me I'm just a worry wart."  
  
"Yes, your majesty," the maid answered with another quick bob.  
  
Alyssa buried another smile as she moved to the side of the bed. Queen Marlena took some getting used to - she wasn't afraid to speak her mind and had a no nonsense approach to dealing with people that seems to catch them off-guard. "This will take just a few moments, your majesty."  
  
"By all means," Marlena answered.  
  
Alyssa held her hands out palms down over Chelsea and dropped into a light healer's trance. She came back out of the trance almost immediately and looked over to the queen. "She's all right, your majesty. It looks like the Sorceress had to work through Chelsea's healing powers in order to Heal her and it drained her. She hasn't awoken yet because her body is having to replenish all that expended energy." She paused for a moment looking for the right words, "It would be like having fought in a battle for like a week straight without having had any sleep at all."  
  
Marlena raised an eyebrow and carefully posed her next question, "And, what would be the effect on the healer?"  
  
"It would be similarly draining, but not nearly as bad. They would be extremely exhausted, your majesty," Alyssa answered.  
  
"That would explain some of it..." Marlena murmured to herself.  
  
"Your majesty?" the healer questioned, confused if the queen was addressing her or not.  
  
Marlena waved a hand, "No, no. just thinking out loud. But, I do have one last question for you - do you have any idea when she will wake up?"  
  
"I can't really say, your majesty, but probably by tomorrow." Alyssa replied, folding her hands in front of her.  
  
"Great," Marlena answered with a relieved smile.  
  
"Is there anything else, your majesty?" Alyssa asked, deferentially.  
  
"No, nothing more," Marlena replied, feeling some of the weight slip from her shoulders, making it easier to stand straight once more. "Thank you for indulging me, Alyssa."  
  
"I could do nothing less, your majesty," Alyssa answered with a slight bow and turned to go.  
  
Marlena chuckled and commented more to herself, "Now, where have I heard that before?"  
  
Alyssa paused and turned back to the queen, "Your majesty?"  
  
Alyssa's statement was echoed by the maid who still stood by the bedside; "Your majesty?"  
  
"No, pay me no mind. I'm talking to myself again," Marlena said ruefully.  
  
Alyssa bowed to the queen once more, "If you'll excuse me, your majesty, I should go report to Dorgan and let him know of my findings."  
  
"By all means," Marlena said, clearly dismissing the seneschal's healer niece.  
  
Alyssa left to head back to the healer's wing to make her report and Marlena turned her attention to the chambermaid, "Now, my dear, what's your name?"  
  
"'Tis Brynna, your majesty," the maid said with another bob.  
  
"All right then, Brynna," Marlena said, "You can do a few simple things for me."  
  
"Anything, your majesty," the maid answered with yet another bob.  
  
"First off, Brynna, you can quit curtseying anytime you say something to me. That's overkill," Marlena said in her usual no-nonsense manner, smiling to try and put the girl at ease. It wouldn't do to frighten the poor girl even more than she already was, being face to face with The Queen.  
  
"Yes, your majesty," Brynna answered, and had to stop herself from bobbing again when Marlena raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Secondly, whom do you report to, child? I need to get word to your supervisor that you've been reassigned to watch over Miss Cameron here until she awakens."  
  
"I- I report to the head of housekeeping, Your Majesty," Brynna answered, stunned by the queen addressing her so directly.  
  
"Good, then I will see that word gets to her via Andrinous. She will see that your duties are covered until then," Marlena said decisively. "I have other... projects... I must attend to, but is there anything you need before I head back?"  
  
"Oh no, your majesty," Brynna answered, her eyes going wide at the very thought of The Queen fetching her, a servant, anything positively shocking.  
  
Marlena smothered a laugh and said, "If you're sure, dear, then I'll be on my way."  
  
"I'm sure, your majesty," Brynna answered, her face giving way to her thoughts.  
  
"Don't worry about anything, my dear, I'll see to it that you don't get in trouble for watching over Miss Cameron." Marlena said, moving towards the door.  
  
"Thank you, your majesty," Brynna said, this time, dropping a small curtsey as the queen left.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Crossing the gardens once more to head back to her husband's office, Marlena ran across Adora, Adam and Seahawk.  
  
"Ah, there you all are," Marlena called out as she approached the small group.  
  
"Hello, Mother," Adora returned as they stopped and waited for Marlena to approach them.  
  
"Did you get word back to Queen Angella yet?" Marlena questioned.  
  
"Yes, I just got back from Castle Grayskull," Adora answered, brushing her hair back out of her face that the breeze had moved there.  
  
"How was the Sorceress?" Marlena questioned her daughter.  
  
"She seemed fine to me," Adora answered, puzzled by the question. Her mother had never before asked after the Sorceress of Grayskull.  
  
"Good," Marlena said with a relieved sigh. "I was a little worried seeing her so drained after healing the two of you yesterday. What are the three of you up to now?"  
  
"Headed to the market place," Adam answered, "We're all feeling a bit claustrophobic and wanted to stretch our legs outside the palace."  
  
"Away from the court, I understand," Marlena said with a small laugh.  
  
"I hope we're not that transparent, your majesty," Seahawk put in, shoving the sleeves of the black turtleneck he wore up to his elbows.  
  
"No, but I have an advantage - I wasn't born here and I feel the same way more often than not even now," Marlena said with a rueful smile. "Have fun and I don't think I need to remind you to be careful."  
  
"No, Mother, you don't. We're taking a couple of guards with us-" Adora started.  
  
"-And Teela said she'd join us," Adam finished, "Just in case anything were to happen."  
  
"Good," Marlena nodded in approval. "I know you three can take care of yourselves, but it never hurts to have the numbers on your side when you get into a sticky situation."  
  
"That's very true, your majesty," Seahawk said ruefully.  
  
Marlena smiled at him before focusing her attention on Adora. "You don't have to go back to Etheria immediately do you, Adora?"  
  
"No," Adora replied with a shake of her head and pushing a stray piece of hair out of the way again. "Not for a few days. Queen Angella still wanted me to take the rest of the time I had originally planned on taking off."  
  
"It will be nice to have you here in the mean time, we barely get to see you as it is," Marlena commented. "I'll let you all get to the market now, I'd best be getting back to check on the king." She turned to go and got no more than two steps before she said, "Don't forget, Adam and Adora, that we have the reception with the ambassador from Arcadia tonight."  
  
Adam made a face, having clearly forgotten, "I'll be there."  
  
Marlena nodded and looked to Adora who also having forgotten, blanched and then said, "I will too, Mother."  
  
Marlena answered. "Wonderful. We'll see you at the throne room at 1830 hours then." She headed on her way, knowing her children were both wondering what they had gotten themselves into now.  
  
"Trial by fire?" she heard Seahawk question the twins as she headed across the garden and was pressed to stifle a laugh. She had indeed just given them a trial by fire. For Seahawk, it was to see if he was ready to accept the other part of Adora's life that required him to possibly stand by her side at such events and for Adora it was to see if her pirate captain was indeed worthy of her affections.  
  
She didn't hear what Adam replied directly, but she knew her son well enough to guess what he said. Smiling, she continued back to check up on her husband.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
The shopping expedition was successful in that a stop at a tailor got Seahawk appropriate clothing for the evening and then more clothing for the rest of their time on Eternia would be ready for him to pick up on the following day.  
  
Adora watched the interaction between her brother and Teela as they discussed something that Adam had picked up from a vendor across the way with a carefully shielded expression. She didn't know what to say to disarm the prickly captain - her upbringing by Shadoweaver and Hordak hadn't exactly covered interpersonal relationships. She still had yet to figure out how her own relationship with Seahawk had come about and how she was going to keep it balanced out with her responsibilities as one of the leaders of the rebellion, let alone what she had here on Eternia as the princess...  
  
Something in her expression must have told Seahawk her thoughts were spinning and said, "I can see the wheels turning in your head, Adora."  
  
"They are spinning," Adora admitted, turning to look at him.  
  
With a good deal of perception, Seahawk asked, "They wouldn't be spinning about your brother, would they?"  
  
"Yes, they are," Adora admitted with a sigh.  
  
"Trying to find a way to disarm a certain captain?"  
  
"That would be nice," Adora answered, frustration tinging her voice. "But, I don't know her well enough to say anything." She impatiently ran a hand through her hair,  
  
"Give your brother some credit, Adora, he'll figure a way out to disarm his captain sooner or later," Seahawk looked over to Adam and Teela and continued, "And, from what I've seen of your brother, I think it will be sooner, rather than later. "  
  
Adora looked at the position of the sun and stated, "We'd better think about heading back. It's going to take me some time to get ready."  
  
"Certainly," Seahawk agreed, but pulled her into his arms. "But not before I do this first," and gave her a weak-at-the-knees kiss that left her breathless and unable to say anything. "Have I mentioned how wonderful you look today?"  
  
Adora leaned back in his embrace, a playful smile having replaced the worried frown of a few moments ago. "No, you haven't."  
  
Adam interrupted the moment by saying what Adora just voiced to Seahawk, "Adora, Seahawk, we had better head back."  
  
Adora turned in Seahawk's embrace and answered, "I just mentioned that to Seahawk, brother mine."  
  
"You know they say that great minds think alike," Adam teased.  
  
"Yeah, right," Teela muttered not quite under her breath.  
  
Adam glanced at her sideways, but let the comment slide, a slight tightening of his eyes was all the reaction he gave that he was at all affected by the captain's acidic tongue.  
  
Adora felt for him, but as Seahawk said, she couldn't do anything about it. She didn't think that Teela was ready for the knowledge yet of her brother's double identity. It was her brother's own battle to win. Forcing herself to keep from saying something she'd regret to the captain, she said, "Will you be attending the reception tonight for the Arcadian ambassador tonight, Teela?"  
  
Teela made a face and answered in a sour voice, "Yes. I got talked into it somehow by the queen."  
  
Seahawk buried his face in Adora's hair, to hide his smile. Adora found her curiosity piqued, "Oh, really? Surely not as captain of the guards?"  
  
"No," Teela answered, her expression betraying some of the confusion she must have felt. "She said she wanted me there, but I don't understand why, if not as a captain of the guards?"  
  
Adora hid her own smile and replied, "As Queen, my mother certainly does things her own way, I've discovered."  
  
Seahawk raised his face back out of Adora's hair and said, "Let's get going if we're going to be ready for this reception on time."  
  
"Right," Adora sighed and reluctantly moved out of his embrace.  
  
The captain, the prince, the pirate and the princess accompanied by a set of royal guards headed for their transport to return to palace in order to prepare for the reception that evening.  
  
A/N: Chief Healer Dorgan is not mine. He belongs to two very talented and prolific writers on the He-Man.Org site - Catslyn and Eideann. I've only borrowed him for a short moment here. :-p 


	14. Chapter 13 And the Road That we Must Cho...

A/N: This is turning out to be another monster chapter, so I'm breaking it into sections. More will follow in a few days… Enjoy! - LN  
  
Chapter XIII  
  
* * * * *  
  
Part I - Preperations  
  
Upon their return to the palace, Adora found that her mother had been busy while she was away. She entered her chambers to see a shimmering dress in the same aquamarine blue as the vest she was currently wearing, draped across the bed, with a maid holding a small, flat velvet box clearly awaiting her presence.  
  
"If you please, your highness, I've been asked to help you get ready for this evening," the maid said with a curtsey.  
  
Adora shook her head in amazement. Her mother was definitely plotting. She accepted the velvet box from the maid and stared speechless at the jewelry inside. It was an aquamarine necklace and earring set in a delicate looking gold pattern. The pieces seemed to speak to her of a different age and were a perfect match for the dress her mother had laid out for her.  
  
"Your highness?" the maid asked a moment later.  
  
"Yes, let's get started then, shall we?" Adora answered, focusing her attention back on the maid.  
  
A brief discussion ensued on how to do her hair for the evening before Adora slipped off for a quick shower and returned a few moments later wrapped in a robe and a towel around her head. She sat down in a chair at the table where they had eaten breakfast in the morning and let the maid begin her work. The end result was her hair piled up on the top of her head with curls cascading down the back from the crown of her head. The maid opted to go for the understated on make-up and dusted Adora's face and shoulders with a translucent powder that made her skin sparkle, followed by a light blush to only heighten her eyes and a simple eyeliner to outline her eyes.   
  
It was a much easier process for Seahawk and Adam to get ready, although Seahawk really wondered what he was getting himself into.   
  
"What am I doing?" he muttered to himself as he got out of the shower. "I must be out of my mind to have agreed to this. I'm not a nobleman. I know nothing about court politics." Drying off, he continued his grousing; "I should just tell Adora that I'm going back before I embarrass her in front of her family."  
  
He paused and looked at himself in the steam coated mirror, "What in the name of the ancients are you doing, Hawk? You've never backed down from a fight before. This is just another fight – albeit of a different sort – but a fight just the same." Toweling his hair dry, he continued on, "Think man! If the two of you weren't meant to be together, then that old witch would never have given you those pendants. You can and you will do this."  
  
On the other side of the palace, Teela was having similar doubts about being out of uniform and mostly unarmed. "How can I protect the king and queen if I'm unarmed?" she complained to the maid she'd found waiting for her upon their return from the marketplace.   
  
Despite her protests that she could get ready on her own, the maid informed her that she was under orders from the queen to help the captain to get ready.   
  
Grumbling, Teela showered away any visible traces of her own rigorous work out and the training session from the morning with the recruits. With her long hair up in a towel and wrapped up in her robe, Teela sat down and let the maid do her 'worst' to her.  
  
For his part, Adam quickly reviewed what he knew about the Bronicans and what the reason for the ambassador's visit was. They were primarily a farming society and only recently had discovered large mineral deposits in the hills of their region. They were looking for a way to safely mine the minerals without destroying their ecosystem and so, looking to enrich their economy and culture, they had turned to Eternos for help. The ambassador, a man by name of Jorhan Anteries, was a forward thinking man, having been educated at the university in Eternos City. He read the rest of the dossier on the ambassador and made mental notes on things to ask the ambassador. His reading done, Adam took his shower, reviewing what he had read and keeping his notes fresh so he wouldn't forget them.   
  
Teela grudgingly admitted to herself that the maid the queen had sent over knew what she was doing. Her hair was not put back up in its usual braid and wrapped the crown of her head, but gathered back into a knot and then the length of it curled into thick, springy ringlets and left to drape down her back. Never one to wear makeup, she was surprised when she saw the end result when she was allowed to look in the mirror. She was amazed to find how her skin seemed to be glowing as if lit from within and her eyes seemed to be a much more intense green than she could ever remember them being.  
  
"Come, Captain Teela, "the maid said, pleased at Teela's reaction to her work. "We need to get you dressed now."  
  
Teela had a momentary sense of panic – she could think of nothing in her scant wardrobe that would do justice to her hair and makeup. Her panic must have shown through for the maid buried a laugh as she answered, "Don't worry. That's been taken care of, Captain."  
  
"Huh?" Teela asked, still fighting back the panic.  
  
"Queen Marlena provided everything you would need in terms of clothing for this evening, Captain Teela," the woman answered as Teela turned back to look at her.  
  
She wondered if she was just that transparent, or the maid that insightful, but decided not to answer that question, since she wasn't sure if she would like the answer.  
  
"Hold out your hands, Captain Teela," the maid instructed and piled clothing in her hands.  
  
Teela stared at the feminine garments the maid laid in her hands, reflecting that the queen had thought of everything for this. In a state of mild shock at the finery in her hands, she barely noticed that the maid had placed a sheath with her best dagger in it on top of the garments and stockings. She looked back to the maid when it registered, "Huh? What's this for?"  
  
"Just because you're not in uniform as Captain of the Guard, doesn't mean that you should be unarmed, Captain Teela," the maid informed her with a sly grin.  
  
"I don't understand – this won't fit under my dress, will it?" Teela questioned.  
  
"Yes, it will. The skirt of the dress was specifically designed to allow you access to your dagger, should you have need of it," the maid answered. She gave Teela a gentle push towards the bathroom, "Now, go put all that on and I will help you get into your dress so you don't mess up my work."  
  
Still a bit amazed at the thoroughness of her outfit for the evening, she headed back to the bathroom to begin getting dressed. She emerged a few moments later with her dagger strapped to her thigh over the stockings and practically hidden by the slip she now wore. She was more covered than in her uniform, practically, but she felt next to naked standing there in the shift and slip before the maid who then helped her carefully step into the dress she had not even noticed before now.   
  
Teela stared at the finished product in the mirror in her bathroom – the dress was black shot through with gold with emerald green trim that matched her eyes, and a cream brocade panel with a green, blue and gold design on both the bodice and skirt. The sleeves had an emerald green ribbon woven along the outside of the arms that ended in a small and seemingly decorative bow at the shoulders.  
  
"Should the need arise," the maid instructed her, "The bows come undone and the sleeves will come away from the dress with just a few tugs. There is a hidden slit in the skirt which will allow you to pull out your dagger in case you need it."  
  
Teela immediately twirled in front the mirror, looking to find the slit to see how easy it would be to reach her dagger, just in case, she told herself. She also couldn't help but notice how the gold thread in the dress seemed to catch the light and give the dress a shimmering quality.  
  
"Now, let's finish up here, we don't have much time left before you need to be in the throne room," the maid brought Teela's attention back to her.  
  
"Huh?" Teela asked, wondering what else the maid could mean. She couldn't believe how so unlike her usual self she looked.  
  
"Accessories, Captain Teela," the maid stated with a smile. She handed Teela her gold dangle earrings with their green crystals to put in and then reached around her to fasten a black ribbon choker of the same material as her dress that had an identical pendant to match her earrings on it. "Perfect. Now, you're just about ready to go."  
  
"What else could I need?" Teela asked, still caught by how different she looked.   
  
"Shoes, for one," the maid answered with a small laugh. "Unless you plan on attending the king and queen barefoot?"  
  
"Oh, right, shoes," Teela answered and looked to her wardrobe. Didn't she have a pair of black slippers that would work?  
  
"Here are your shoes, Captain," said the maid as she handed Teela her one pair of trusty black slippers, freshly cleaned and polished.  
  
"Oh, thank you," Teela said, slipping her shoes on. The shoes had the barest hint of a heel and were deceptively comfortable - allowing her to be able to be on her feet for the better part of an evening when she was required to attend royal functions and not be in pain after the first hour from aching feet.   
  
"Don't forget your cobra staff," the maid said, handing it out for Teela to take.  
  
"But, I don't have anywhere to put it…" Teela started to object.  
  
"Oh, but you do," the maid pointed out the hidden loop along the waist on the right side. "Your staff will hook onto the loop there."  
  
Teela slid her staff into the loop and turned to look at herself in the mirror once more. The staff didn't detract so much from the dress as to add to the elegance of it and give her a mysterious air. The effect was amazing. How had Queen Marlena gotten her measurements to make the dress fit so well? She suspected her father's hand in this. She would have to ask him about it when she saw him this evening.  
  
"Now I think you're ready, Captain Teela," the maid said with an approving nod.   
  
"Am I?" Teela questioned, giving herself a critical look in the mirror. She was having a hard time adjusting to the image in the mirror to what she was used to seeing herself as. "Yes, you are," the maid answered with a laugh, packing away everything that she had used to do Teela's hair and makeup. "We're cutting it close, Captain. You need to be at the throne room in fifteen minutes."  
  
"Fifteen minutes?" Teela asked, surprised at how much time it had taken to get ready.  
  
"Yes, so you had better head out that door," was the maid's answer.  
  
Teela checked the clock and saw that the maid was indeed right. "Fifteen minutes! I've got to go!"  
  
Grabbing her skirts, Teela rushed for the door. She paused at the threshold, "You will lock up won't you?"  
  
"Of course, Captain Teela," the maid answered, finishing putting her supplies away as Teela rushed out the door. She could report back to the queen tomorrow that the young captain had been most cooperative.   
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	15. Chapter 13 Part 2 And the Road That we M...

A/N: As promised - here is Part II as promised. Part III will follow in a week…. :-p   
  
Part 2 - Away We Go?  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Adam and Seahawk met in the corridor outside their rooms and gave each other the once over, to make sure that they would meet with Adam's mother's approval before they headed to the throne room. Seahawk wore an aquamarine vest over a white shirt with aquamarine button and cuff studs and black trousers. Adam was dressed in a similar fashion except that his vest was an emerald green tone with button and cuff studs of the same color. His unruly blond hair was still damp and shoved back off his brow for the moment while the back brushed his collar.  
  
"Having second thoughts about this yet, Seahawk? Adam lightly teased.  
  
"More than second thoughts," Seahawk replied with a short laugh. "But, I'm not going to let something like this run me off. This is easy when compared to facing Horde Admiral Scurvy."   
  
Adam nodded in agreement, "Ambassador Anteries is more of a scholar than a politician. It's just the courtiers you have to look out for."  
  
On that note, Adora emerged from her suite to the stunned appreciation of Seahawk and Adam.   
  
"Wow, Adora," Adam said with a low whistle.  
  
Adora twirled in a slow circle to show off for the two.  
  
Seahawk stared at her, speechless at how absolutely wonderful she looked, but there was something nagging at him about her appearance that he just couldn't put his finger on. She reminded him of someone else and he didn't know who that was. He found his voice back, "You look… simply amazing, Adora."  
  
"Why thank you, kind sir," Adora dropped a shallow curtsey to him as he bowed to her.   
  
"We'd better get a move on, Sis," Adam said, aware of the time.  
  
"I know, but I just want to look in on Chelsea before we go," Adora replied. "I just want to make sure she's all right."  
  
"All right," Adam gave in. He felt the same way and had asked a chambermaid to look after her.  
  
"I promise, I'll keep it quick, Adam. I don't want to be late either," Adora assured her brother. Her skirts rustled as she moved forward to head to Chelsea's suite. "In the meantime, brother dear, you can fill us in on this reception tonight. I don't want to make a fool out of myself in front of this ambassador."  
  
At their entrance, the maid, Brynna, popped to her feet to drop a curtsey to them, "Oh, Your Highnesses!"  
  
"We're just passing through, Brynna," Adam assured the maid with an easy smile.  
  
"Yes, Your Highness," Brynna answered. "Did her majesty The Queen tell you that she came by with a healer this afternoon?"  
  
"I believe so," Adam answered, watching his sister bend over Chelsea. ::What's on your mind, Adora?::  
  
"The healer said that Miss Cameron was merely sleeping - recovering the energy from the healing yesterday," Brynna informed them.  
  
:: Do you think She-Ra…:: Adora thought back to her brother, only half listening to the maid.  
  
::Chelsea will be fine. The healer said so and the Sorceress said so yesterday. :: Adam thought back to her. ::Besides, what would Mother think if you spend the next day passed out from exhaustion because you replenished Chelsea's energy?::  
  
::So I can't do anything?:: Adora thought back to her brother, a hint of frustration leaking through.  
  
::She'll be all right, Sis.:: stated Adam.  
  
"How has she been?" Seahawk asked, also watching Adora look over Chelsea.  
  
"She's been asleep the whole time, Sir," Brynna replied. "She's naught stirred at all."  
  
"Hrmm," Seahawk answered, stroking his bearded chin. "The healer said she'd be all right, yes?"  
  
"Oh yes, Sir," Brynna answered. "The Healer Alyssa said she was merely asleep, Sir. She said that she should wake up by tomorrow."  
  
Adora brushed Chelsea's hair back from her face, concern still clouding her eyes.  
  
"Adora," Seahawk said, "You heard it from the maid here as well as your mother. The healer said she'd be fine."  
  
"Yes, but -" Adora began.  
  
"She'll be fine, Sis. Now come on, or else we'll be late," Adam repeated his earlier statement to her.   
  
Adora straightened up and looked to the maid, "You'll call for us if she awakens, yes?"  
  
"Oh yes, Your Highness," Brynna answered with a bob.   
  
"Thank you, Brynna," Adora stated, remembering the name Adam had said when they'd entered the room.   
  
"Oh, you're welcome, Your Highness," Brynna answered with yet another bob.   
  
Seahawk repressed a smile behind his hand on the pretense of stroking his beard as he shared a look with Adam. The poor maid was clearly flustered by their presence. He moved forward and gently drew Adora away. "Your brother is right, Adora. We will be late if we don't hurry."  
  
"All right, all right," Adora gave in, allowing Seahawk to lead her away.   
  
"Have a good evening, Your Highnesses and Sir," Brynna said as they left the room.  
  
"We'll have to cut across the gardens in order to be there on time," Adam stated, well aware of the layout of the palace.   
  
"Lead the way, Adam," Adora answered, tucking one hand into the crook of Seahawk's arm and the other holding her skirts up enough to allow her to move briskly.   
  
As they crossed the gardens, heading in a different direction from the afternoon when they had headed into town, Adam briefed his sister and Seahawk on the ambassador and what that evening's reception was about.   
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
For her part, Teela also found herself with her skirts in hand and quickly cutting across the gardens towards the throne room from her quarters. She grumbled under her breath the whole way about having to be in a dress, but deep down, relished the fact that she would definitely knock more than a few people off their feet tonight with how good she looked. Seeing that the throne room was just ahead and the courtiers beginning to mingle just up ahead, she immediately slowed her pace and let go of the handfuls of her skirts she had in hand, nervously smoothing the material out.   
  
Hearing a loud burst of laughter coming from another pathway, Teela turned her head trying to figure out if the person laughing was friend or foe, for no courtier would laugh so freely. She saw Adam, his sister Adora and her boyfriend, Captain Seahawk hurrying along from the direction of their quarters, full of laughter. The Etherian captain seemed to be laughing at something Adora said. Teela was surprised to find herself jealous at the possessive way he kept Adora's hand tucked at his elbow. She wondered, before she shoved the jealous and the errant thought that accompanied it back, if she would ever have someone care for her that way. Straightening her shoulders, just girding herself for some stupid comment to be made by Adam on her appearance, she strode forward to meet them.   
  
Adora was the first one to spot and recognize her, "Teela?"  
  
Seahawk turned his head to see whom she was addressing and was clearly taken aback by her appearance.  
  
Refusing to smooth her skirts again and show her nervousness, Teela continued to approach them with her head held high. "I wondered who that I was I heard laughing. None of the courtiers know how to laugh I don't think."  
  
Adora chuckled and was the one to agree, "I think I have to agree with you on that, Teela."  
  
Seahawk spoke up, "Might I say, you look quite stunning this evening, Captain Teela?"  
  
Teela inclined her head, "Thank you, Captain Seahawk."  
  
"Just Seahawk, please," Seahawk answered with a smile. "I am not a captain here on land on Eternia."  
  
Adam cleared his throat and was about to reply when Andrinous came bustling forward, calling their names.  
  
"Prince Adam," he said in his usual imperious tones, "Princess Adora, you need to be at their majesties side for the receiving line now. "  
  
Adam sighed and answered in a weary tone, "Yes, Andrinous. We were on our way there now."  
  
With barely a nod to them he said, "Captain Seahawk, Captain Teela." Then he spun about and headed back into the palace.  
  
Adora sighed and looked after the seneschal with sour expression on her face. "Does he ever smile?"  
  
Teela was unsuccessful in smothering a laugh as Adam answered with a lopsided grin that he directed at her, "I don't think I've ever seen him smile - even when Teela and I were kids. Do you ever remember him smiling, Teela?"  
  
"No, I don't," Teela answered, feeling a small rush of pleasure at the lopsided grin Adam gave her.  
  
Adora shook her head and commented, "Come on, we'd better get in there before he comes back."   
  
Teela had to agree with her, the last thing she wanted to do was to have Andrinous come back out and make his displeasure even more known.  
  
Adora made sure her hand was still securely tucked in the crook of Seahawk's arm as she slanted her head towards her brother. "Brother dearest, where are your manners? Offer Teela your arm."  
  
"Oh, right," Adam said as if having forgotten what he was doing while looking at her. Teela felt her face heat up when Adam moved forward and offered her his arm. Following Seahawk's example, he tucked Teela's hand in the crook of his arm. He led the way past the courtiers who turned to stare at them. "You look really good tonight, Teela."  
  
"Thank you, Adam," Teela accepted the compliment, feeling another thrill of pleasure for him noticing how she looked.   
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Behind her brother and Teela, Adora had an approving smile on her face.  
  
"What are you smiling about?" Seahawk quietly asked her.  
  
Adora tilted her head towards her brother, "That."  
  
"I don't think the war is over," Seahawk cautioned her, looking up at the evening sky. The sunset was full of colors - scarlet red, vibrant orange and deep purple - a good night to be sailing. He would have to see if he could get Adora out for an evening sail when they got back to Etheria - any 'engagements' with Hordak notwithstanding.   
  
"I know it's not, but it's nice to see a truce between them for tonight," Adora answered. She laughed softly a moment later, "I see my mother's hand all over the place tonight."  
  
"I believe you're right," Seahawk agreed. "Now, do you think they've figured out just who is on your brother's arm yet?" He meant the courtiers who were gathering up behind them to enter into the palace.   
  
"Some of the brighter ones, probably," Adora chuckled and commented, "They're probably kicking themselves about now, but none of them have a chance."  
  
"Isn't that Man-At-Arms up there?" Seahawk questioned with a nod towards the doorway.  
  
Adora looked and said, "Yes, yes it is. I don't think I've ever seen him in dress uniform before."  
  
"Your mother seems determined to shake things up tonight," Seahawk commented almost under his breath to her.  
  
"Indeed," Adora agreed and raised a hand up to acknowledge Man-At-Arm's searching gaze.  
  
The older warrior nodded and moved to join them. "There you all are. I was hoping to find you before Andrinous did."  
  
"Too late, Father," Teela said by way of greeting. "He already did and told us we were late."  
  
"Everyone's always late according to his time schedule," Man-At-Arms muttered not quite under his breath.   
  
Adora heard him and didn't bother to hide the laugh that escaped. It seemed that even Man-At-Arms didn't like the stuffy seneschal. "Are we truly that late, Man-At-Arms?"  
  
"No, you're just in time. The king and queen only arrived moments ago," the older warrior answered, setting a hand on the hilt of the blaster at his side. He was taking no chances with the royal family safety, even if he was out of his armor for the evening.   
  
Adora wished for a moment that she had her sword on her back, feeling at a distinct advantage not having it with her. But she knew that Seahawk was still armed with his ring at least and she didn't doubt that he had a dagger or two hidden on him somewhere. She also knew that if He-Man and She-Ra were needed, Man-At-Arms would do his best to provide cover for them.   
  
Adam was thinking along the same lines as her, "You're not expecting trouble tonight, are you, Man-At-Arms?"   
  
"I'm not expecting it, no, but I am prepared for it, just in case Skeletor has something up his sleeve. It would be like him to attack on a night like this," Man-At-Arms answered over his shoulder, leading them into the palace.  
  
Adam answered for all of them, "Well, I certainly hope he doesn't attack tonight."  
  
Teela snorted and said, "Speak for yourself. You're not the one who has to wear a dress."  
  
"No, but it would look awful on me, whereas it looks great on you," Adam took her complaint and turned it into a compliment.  
  
Adora silently applauded her brother for disarming the captain's temper as they ascended the steps leading up into the palace from the garden. She didn't recognize her mother at first, since she had her back to them and had her hair out of its usual arrangement. Her father, with his broad shoulders and commanding voice, was easy to recognize.  
  
"Ah, you're just in time," Marlena called out in greeting as she turned around and spotted them coming in the doorway. She cast an approving eye over her children and their escorts and said, "You all look absolutely wonderful."  
  
The majordomo nodded to the sentries outside the throne room to open the doors.   
  
"There's our cue for us to take our positions," Marlena nodded to her children.   
  
With a hand on her husband's arm, she led the way into the throne room.   
  
Despite Teela's protest that she should be behind the royal family, not part of the receiving line, she was overruled by the majordomo, her father and Queen Marlena in short order and kept her place at Adam's side.  
  
Adora didn't dare look at her mother for fear she would start laughing and give the game away. As it was, she was having a hard time keeping a lock down on any emotions to ensure they wouldn't seep through their link and then add to Adam's own sense of amusement and give the game away to Teela who wouldn't understand their humor in the flare of her temper.  
  
The receiving line started with Radnor, then Marlena, followed by Adam with Teela on his left side, then Adora was next to her with Seahawk on her left side and Man-At-Arms on the end.   
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	16. Chapter 13 Part 3 And the Road That we M...

Part III - Positively Shocking  
  
* * * *  
  
Teela tried to protest, "I shouldn't be in the receiving line. I should be behind it, watching the crowd."  
  
"Captain Teela, your place is at Prince Adam's side this evening," the majordomo had calmly said in his unruffled manner.  
  
Teela turned to her father, "Father?"  
  
"He's right, Teela," he said with a nod.  
  
Queen Marlena had given her this serene smile and said, "No buts, Teela. You're not on duty tonight as Captain of the Guards."  
  
Now, tired of standing in this endless seeming reception line, she shifted her feet impatiently under her dress. Her thoughts wandered and turned to Adam. She was having a hard time getting used to this new side of him she was seeing. He had taken control of the situation yesterday with no fuss and then the way he had shut Andrinous up - she couldn't believe it. It was like he was as commanding as her father or He-Man.   
  
"Bored yet?" Adam asked her at a pause between people.   
  
"Not yet," Teela tried to deny.  
  
"Sure. Right," Adam said with one of his lopsided grins. He turned his attention back to the next diplomat making his way. He shook hands with him and then his wife, exchanging a few pleasantries with them, before they moved down the line.  
  
"How do you know what to say to each person?" Teela questioned, an eyebrow raised.  
  
"Because I listen to what gets said around me and make a mental list of what to say," Adam answered with a simple shrug.   
  
Teela was quiet as she processed that bit of information. She tried again to hide her growing boredom and impatience. She wondered at this 'new side' of him she was seeing. Was it always there and she was just too mad at him for not fighting at her side when Skeletor tended to attack either the palace or Grayskull to see it? Or, was it something new? She caught herself worrying at her lip and stopped to pay attention to her surroundings. Just because she wasn't on duty as Captain of the Guards tonight, didn't mean that she could relax from her body guard duties. After all, she was still armed and would be in a better position to act if a threat to the king and queen presented itself.  
  
She watched the crowd carefully, watching for any signs of threat. The evening was young enough yet, that there might be someone who behaved inappropriately and she would have to call the guards to escort them from the reception. She decided to let the thoughts she had running around her head about Adam lay until she had the time after the reception this evening to sort it all out.   
  
Finally, the reception line was finished and she could roll her shoulders to relieve the tension in them that had crept up on her for being on display. She wondered how Adam could deal with it when she caught him rolling his shoulders as well.  
  
"Bored yet?" she asked him, a smile lurking at the corners of her mouth.  
  
"Nope, how 'bout you?" Adam answered, with his lopsided grin in place once more and held out his arm for her to take to escort her down off the steps of the dais where they had stood to do the reception line.   
  
"Not yet, but I'm starving. How long before we get to eat?" she said as she carefully took her skirts in one hand and wrapped her other around the proffered arm.   
  
"Didn't you get a chance to eat lunch?" Adam asked as they came down off the steps.  
  
"I forgot," Teela admitted. "The training session ran longer than I thought it was going to today and then almost immediately we went into town."  
  
"What happened, or do I even want to know?" Adam asked her as his sister and Seahawk approached them.  
  
Teela frowned and heaved a sigh of frustration at the training session that had gone so wrong. "Nothing disastrous…"  
  
"But…" Adora put in, recognizing Teela's frustration.  
  
"I just had a pair of real troublemakers in this group," Teela said with a shake of her head.   
  
"Let me guess," Adora said shrewdly, "It's the 'A woman's not fit to be a commander?'"   
  
"I take it you've run into that too?" Teela asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
Adora nodded, "Yes - too many times, unfortunately."  
  
"Whathave you done to solve this when you've run into it?" Teela asked, surprised that she actually had something in common with Adam's sister.  
  
"Anything I can to avoid a direct confrontation with them," Adora answered with a grimace. "I've tried to let my record speak for itself."  
  
"What about the boneheads that that doesn't work on?" Adam put in.  
  
"When nothing else has worked…" Adora took a breath and continued, "I've found that sometimes you have to beat some sense into them."  
  
"How many times have you had to do this?" Teela asked, beginning to get a clearer picture of Adam's sister's life on Etheria. Being in command more often than not wasn't all it cracked up to be and Adora seemed to have her hands full with not only Hordak, but also, the male arrogance of women being less than capable leaders.  
  
Adora closed her eyes briefly, clearly counting up, "I think I've only been challenged directly no more than five times. Most of the time, the troublemakers lose their attitude after the first real fight with the Horde."  
  
Teela got the distinct impression that the princess was holding back and definitely choosing her words carefully. She would have said more but for her father approaching their group.  
  
"Don't forget to circulate through the crowd," Man-At-Arms cautioned them as he approached.  
  
"Yes, Father," Teela answered, a hint of exasperation in her voice. She knew they had to walk about and talk with the silly courtiers. She was getting crabby because she was hungry and would have preferred to go sit down to dinner instead of making 'small talk.'  
  
"I don't think I've ever seen you in formal dress uniform, Man-At-Arms," Adora commented with a raised eyebrow.  
  
Man-At-Arms rolled his shoulders and groused, "I feel like an over-decorated fool in this thing."  
  
Adam chuckled before commenting, "You aren't the only one, Duncan, you aren't the only one."  
  
Man-At-Arms grunted in response and shifted his gaze to just past Teela's shoulder. A grimace crossed his face at the sight of something. "Lady Isthmus is headed this way."  
  
Teela and Adam groaned in unison as Adora and Seahawk both looked lost.  
  
"Would someone please explain?" Seahawk questioned.  
  
"Think Andrinous -" Adam started.  
  
"- In female form," Teela finished.  
  
"Prince Adam," the imperious voice rang out from the small woman.  
  
Pasting a smile on his face, Adam turned to face the older woman, "Good evening, Lady Isthmus."  
  
Adora, her face suddenly alight, turned to Seahawk and whispered just loud enough for Teela to hear, "Do you want to play this straight, or do you want to go for positively shocking?"  
  
"Positively shocking - why not?" Seahawk answered, his handsome face carving up in a wicked smile.  
  
"Captain Teela," Lady Isthmus stated by way of greeting.  
  
"Good evening, Lady Isthmus," Teela said formally and would have dipped into a curtsey except for a slight tightening of her hand by Adam.  
  
Lady Isthmus sniffed and inclined her head regally at Man-At-Arms before turning her attention back to Adam, "Prince Adam, I don't think I've ever been introduced formally to your sister."  
  
"Of course, Lady Isthmus," Adam turned and with a sweeping motion said, "Lady Analya Isthmus, may I please present my sister, the Princess Adora. Adora, this is Lady Analya Isthmus."  
  
Adora kept her expression pleasant as she held out her hand and replied, "Good evening, Lady Isthmus, it's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
Lady Isthmus sniffed and looked Adora over from head to toe, clearly trying to find fault with her. "You are clearly your mother's daughter, aren't you?"  
  
"Yes, I guess I am, and I am quite proud to call her my mother," Adora answered, her voice still pleasant and smooth, covering the hard edge of her temper.  
  
Lady Isthmus' expression became ever so slightly pinched as she cast a disparaging look at Seahawk that made Teela long to tell the old biddy off, but she held back because she knew that Adora and Seahawk had something up their sleeves.  
  
"And, who is this on your arm tonight, Princess?" Lady Isthmus' voice seemed to drip disapproval.  
  
"Lady Isthmus, this is Captain Seahawk, a dear friend and fellow rebel from Etheria," Adora answered, choosing her words carefully.  
  
Seahawk executed a perfect bow and said, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Isthmus."  
  
Teela wondered if Adam knew what his sister and her boyfriend were up to, and quickly glanced at him to see if she could tell. He had a neutral expression on his face, not giving away anything. She focused her attention back on the scene playing out in front of her, not wanting to miss anything that they were going to do.   
  
Lady Isthmus couldn't find fault with the bow, but said, "Well, we'll see about that, young man." the courtier turned her attention back to Adora and questioned, "Just what do you mean, fellow rebel, my dear?"  
  
"Why, didn't you know, Lady Isthmus, I am helping lead the rebellion against the Horde on Etheria?" Adora said ingenuously.  
  
"What?" Lady Isthmus sounded positively shocked.  
  
"Yes, I am a rebel leader on Etheria, Lady Isthmus," Adora said, her face a study of innocence.  
  
"You - you don't mean you actually go out there and fight yourself, do you?" Lady Isthmus sounded shocked at the very thought.  
  
"Why, yes she does, Lady Isthmus," Seahawk chimed in every so smoothly. "I've seen her fight with Hordak's mercenaries hand to hand on more than one occasion."  
  
That got a shocked gasp out of the courtier. Teela figured out Adora's plan then and fought to keep a gleeful grin off her face.   
  
"That's just totally inappropriate behavior for a princess!" Lady Isthmus exclaimed.  
  
"Who better than me to help lead the fight against the Horde? Why, Lady Isthmus, didn't you know that I was a Horde Force Captain before my brother found me and managed to help me break the years of conditioning and spells that Hordak and his witch, Shadoweaver, used to keep me in line?" Adora said, her face still a study in innocence.   
  
Teela stifled a chortle as Lady Isthmus paled a bit. She had waited so long to see Lady Isthmus taken down a notch or two and it looked like she was getting her chance. She didn't dare look at her father or Adam to see their reactions since she didn't want to give away what Adora was doing.  
  
Lady Isthmus looked to Adam in shock for confirmation, "Is this true, Prince Adam?"  
  
Adam nodded and said, "Absolutely true, Lady Isthmus."  
  
"I'd heard something…" Lady Isthmus demurred, not wanting to admit that she had dismissed the stories as being too ridiculous, while she had gleefully passed on whatever gossip she could. She turned back to Seahawk, clearly hoping that he would prove to be less scandalous than a fighting princess. "And you, Captain Seahawk?" she addressed him tentatively, "Are you also a rebel leader?"  
  
Seahawk laughed and said, "Oh no, Lady Isthmus, I wish to command nothing more than my ship and crew on the open sea."  
  
"You, ah, command your own ship then, Captain Seahawk?"  
  
"Yes, my ship is called the Solar Sailor," Seahawk answered innocently.  
  
"And, what do you do for the rebellion, Captain Seahawk?" Lady Isthmus questioned next.  
  
"You could say I 'procure' supplies for the rebels," Seahawk drawled, devilment making his eyes sparkle.  
  
Lady Isthmus plowed on, unaware of the trap she was heading for, "You 'procure' supplies?"  
  
"Why yes, ma'am," Seahawk replied. "I have found it easiest to get supplies by taking them from the Horde."  
  
Putting the pieces together, Lady Isthmus drew in another shocked breath, "You mean - you're a pirate?!"  
  
"Of course, Lady Isthmus," Seahawk stated as if there was never any doubt about him being a pirate.  
  
Teela was shaking with suppressed laughter at seeing Lady Isthmus spluttering and at a total loss for words. She didn't dare laugh in the courtier's face, but the woman had been so easy to manipulate!  
  
Finally getting the hint that she had been outclassed and outmaneuvered, Lady Isthmus made her excuses and beat a hasty retreat.  
  
Laughing, Adam congratulated his sister, "Well done, Sis."  
  
Teela couldn't contain her enthusiasm about seeing Lady Isthmus taken down a notch and was enthusiastic in saying, "That was just great! I didn't think I'd ever see her ego deflated like that!"  
  
"Yes, I agree, it's been a long time coming to see Anya taken down like that," a cool voice interjected. 


	17. Chapter 13 Part 4 And the Road That we M...

"Lady Euterpe," Adam said, quickly turning to face the newcomer to their small group. He bowed deeply over the hand she held out, showing her much more respect than he had Lady Isthmus.  
  
She cast an approving eye on Teela and said, "You look very good this evening, Captain Teela."  
  
"Thank you, Lady Euterpe," Teela replied, dipping into a deep curtsey this time that Adam didn't protest.  
  
She nodded to Duncan and commented, "I see the Queen managed to get you out of your armor for a change, Duncan."  
  
Duncan grimaced as he answered, "She did, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it."  
  
That got a chuckle from the noblewoman. "You will survive it, I'm sure, Duncan." She turned her attention back to Adam for a moment and said, "Now, Prince Adam, perhaps you would be so kind as to introduce me to your scandalous sister and her dangerous escort."  
  
"It would be my pleasure, Lady Euterpe," Adam said with a genuine smile. She was about the only noble at court that had a very down to earth attitude and had always had a soft spot under her crusty exterior for Adam and Teela. "Lady Euterpe, may I please present you to my sister the Princess Adora and her escort, Captain Seahawk of Etheria. Adora, this is Lady Ceridwen Euterpe, Marquesa of the Sollarian province."  
  
Adora smiled and bowed to the noblewoman, taking her cue from the warmth she had heard in Adam's voice. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Euterpe."  
  
Seahawk executed another perfect bow over the hand of Lady Euterpe and said, "It's an honor to meet such an exalted lady."  
  
Lady Euterpe laughed delightedly, much to Teela's surprise. She didn't think that she'd ever heard Lady Euterpe laugh like that. "Oh, you are a rogue, aren't you, Captain Seahawk?"  
  
"But of course, my lady," Seahawk answered with a wide smile.  
  
"Good," Lady Euterpe said decisively with an approving look on her face. "These courtiers need a good shaking up." She looked back to Adora and said, "He's definitely a keeper, Princess. Don't let him get away."  
  
"But, I -" Adora started to say, her face flushing.  
  
"No buts, my dear," Lady Euterpe said holding up a hand to stem off any protests. "I have been around far too long not to recognize the signals you two are giving off."  
  
Teela watched a bit amused as Adam's sister seemed at a loss for words. In the short time she had known Adora, the princess had always seemed so composed and balanced - never at a loss for words, until now.  
  
"You two make a wonderful looking couple and obviously you know how to work together. Those are just the most obvious signs. The lesser ones are there for an old meddler like me to see," Lady Euterpe explained with a wide smile. Changing the subject abruptly, she said, "I have to applaud your handling of Anya - Lady Isthmus, my dear."  
  
"Thank you," Adora answered, thrown off-balance by the older woman's changing the subject back to Lady Isthmus.  
  
"She's always had too high an opinion of herself," Lady Euterpe said, resting both hands on top of the pommel of a walking stick.  
  
"My lady?" Adora questioned.   
  
"Lady Isthmus - she's always been insufferable, but ever since her granddaughter was married off to Lord Phillip of Sonnestra a few months back," Lady Euterpe said, looking down at her hands for a moment.  
  
Adam nodded and said, "Yeah, I seem to remember something about that…"  
  
Teela remembered she and Adam had been away, rather conveniently, at the time, doing a state visit and had managed to avoid the event. She had her suspicions and judging from the sly expression on Adam's face, she now knew that he had used the visit as an excuse not to attend. "We were away at the time - on a visit to Stratos' home."  
  
Lady Euterpe nodded, her expression equally sly. She had it figured out as well that the visit was an excuse not to attend the horridly pompous affair. Once more, she centered her attention on Adora, "Tell me, dear, you didn't exaggerate about your role on Etheria, did you?"  
  
Adora shook her head, vehemently, "No, ma'am. I figured the truth would be more than she could handle."  
  
"And, right you are," Lady Euterpe approved. "Now, if you all will excuse me, my old bones are telling me my age this evening and I am off to go find a comfortable chair to sit in before the dinner bell tolls. It was a pleasure finally getting to meet you, Princess. We shall talk more later on, I am sure."  
  
Walking slowly, the older woman made her way across the throne room.  
  
"Wow, why do I feel I just passed some really important test?" Adora questioned, looking first to Seahawk, then to Man-At-Arms, to Teela, finally to her brother.  
  
"Lady Euterpe was a lady-in-waiting to your grandmother," Duncan supplied, having been silent during the conversation with the elderly courtier.  
  
"Oh. That explains a lot," Adora said, her eyes wide with understanding. "I still have so much to learn, it seems."  
  
"Don't worry, Sis," Adam teased, "I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually."  
  
"Oh gee, thanks, Adam," Adora rolled her eyes at her brother.  
  
"Remember what I said earlier - don't forget to circulate the room," Man-At-Arms repeated his earlier statement. "We've still got some time before dinner."  
  
At the mention of dinner, Teela's stomach rumbled again, reminding her of the long gap from breakfast until dinner. This time, she was the one who flushed with embarrassment and cursing her fair complexion.   
  
"Come on, Teela," Adam said, ignoring her growling stomach. "We'll start on this side of the room. Adora, Seahawk - why don't you take the opposite side and we'll meet in the middle if the dinner bell hasn't rung before then?"  
  
"Right," Adora nodded, taking a deep breath. With one hand over her stomach and the other still tucked in the crook of Seahawk's arm, she moved off to the far side of the room.  
  
Murmuring more to himself than anyone else, Duncan said, "I think I'll go with them."  
  
"I think that would be a good idea, Man-At-Arms," Adam put in after exchanging a quick look with Teela.   
  
Knowing that her father knew all the various nobles whereas Adora didn't, Teela agreed with Adam. Then, the next thing she knew, he was guiding her across the room and they were talking with another of the nobles who had attended the reception. The next forty-five minutes passed by in something of a blur for Teela. They would pause and exchange a word or two with a noble then move on and repeat the process all over again. The whole time, she was constantly aware of her stomach churning, reminding her of her hunger.   
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Feeling more like she would rather face a squadron of Horde troopers, Adora split off from her brother and Teela and moved to the far side of the room. She had discovered that not only did she have a family just a few short years ago, but she was a princess. So, on top of getting used to the family thing, she suddenly had to learn about court etiquette? Shoving back her sudden attack of nerves, Adora told herself she could do this. She could face down the nobles and not make a fool out of herself or embarrass her parents. A distinctive tread behind her had her turning her head to see Man-At-Arms approaching. The sudden knot of tension that had been building in her stomach suddenly dissipated. Duncan would keep her from making a total fool out of herself.   
  
With a sigh of relief, she looked over to the older warrior and gave him a grateful smile. "Man-At-Arms, you've come to my rescue, haven't you?"  
  
The warrior answered, "I realize that there are quite a few faces here tonight that you might not recognize, Princess."  
  
"And how," Adora said, making a sweeping motion of the room and the assemblage of nobles. It seemed like every noble in the kingdom had found reason to attend the gala that evening.  
  
"We'll make this quick," Duncan promised. "Basically a word or two and then move on to the next group."  
  
"Right," Seahawk agreed to the suggestion. "Are you going to introduce us, or are you going to provide us names and titles as we go along?"  
  
"This round, I'll do the introductions," Duncan said, stepping to Adora's right and leading the way.  
  
With Duncan's help, they easily made their way around the room and arrived moments after Adam and Teela at her parents' side.   
  
Her mother was the first to notice their arrival, as her father was engaged in conversation with the ambassador , almost to the point of being unaware of what was going on around him. "Good timing, Adora."  
  
"Thanks, Mother," Adora said, accepting the quick hug her mother gave her.  
  
Marlena looked over to Duncan and said, "Keeping them out of trouble, Duncan?"  
  
"But of course, my queen," was the answer with a small grin.  
  
Marlena quirked an eyebrow, but clearly Lady Isthmus hadn't told everyone her horror tale of how Adora was a warrior and her Captain was a pirate.   
  
Adora was saved by the ringing of the dinner bell. She buried a laugh as Teela muttered, "About time! I'm starved!" She knew how the captain felt, since she was feeling quite hungry herself. Hopefully with dinner, she would be able to eat and not be required to carry on polite conversation. She looked to Seahawk and said, "Are you ready?"  
  
"I think I have to agree with Teela," Seahawk answered, a grin creasing the corners of his mouth.   
  
"Me too, me too," Adora agreed, giving him a quick hug and a brief kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Come on, we better not fall behind."  
  
As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Marlena turned and laughed over her shoulder at her lagging daughter, "Come on Adora, dinner is waiting."  
  
"Coming, Mother," Adora answered laughing, before gathering her skirts in one hand and tucking the other back in the crook of Seahawk's arm.  
  
"She's got eyes in the back of her head," Seahawk commented, with a amused shake of his head.  
  
"I think it's part of the job description," Adora replied as they moved to catch up to her parents.  
  
"What job description?" Teela asked as they caught up to her and Adam.  
  
"Why, being a parent, of course," Marlena chimed in.   
  
"I told you so," Adora laughed as they followed her parents out of the throne room and down the hall to the large, formal dining room.  
  
In the dining room, they were all of course, seated at the head table, again on a dais. Adora detected her mother's hand in the seating arrangements since her father was not Seahawk's conversation partner during the meal. Duncan and Teela were the anchors, she sat to Duncan's right, and Seahawk was on her left next to her mother. Her father was of course, next to her mother, and next to him was the ambassador with Adam on the other side with Teela on his left. The arrangement would give her a chance to catch up with Duncan and see what Skeletor was up to. If there was a chance that She-Ra might be needed during her visit, she wanted a heads up about it now so she could be prepared to make her excuses to Seahawk and her parents if necessary.  
  
Adora also found it rather ironic that father and daughter were at the ends of the table. If any direct threat were made to the royal family from the assembly, they would have to fight awfully hard to get past those two and while neither she nor Adam had their swords, they weren't exactly helpless in a fight and Seahawk… well, she knew he was still slightly armed with at least his ring.   
  
Dinner actually moved fairly smoothly, much to Adora's surprise. There was an overly long pause between courses and by the time dessert arrived, she found herself wondering where the time had gone. A look down to the far end of the table assured her that the truce was still on between her brother and his captain.  
  
While the news from Duncan was disquieting, it wasn't all out cause for alarm. Skeletor was plotting, but quiet for the moment. They had no obvious sign that he was going to attack Grayskull or the palace in the next day or two. That dissolved the one knot of tension she had between her shoulder blades, seeing Seahawk totally charm her mother dissolved another. She wasn't certain, but she thought that she saw an approving nod come from her father at one point during dinner. She'd have to wait until after dinner before she got a chance to talk to him about it.   
  
Finally, dinner came to an end and it was time to get up from the table and stretch their legs as they made their way to the ballroom. Adora willingly put her hand in the crook of Seahawk's arm once more as they left the table. She was pleased to note that the truce between Adam and Teela was still holding.  
  
"Tell me, what were you and Man-At-Arms discussing that had you scowling?" Seahawk asked as they fell into step behind her parents.  
  
"I was?" Adora replied, surprised. She hadn't thought that she was scowling.  
  
"It was just for an instant - the way you tightened your shoulders and how you had a crease right here," Seahawk said, putting one finger right between and her eyebrows and gently smoothing them out.   
  
Adora shivered in response, still finding it hard to believe that the simplest touch from him could send her pulse fluttering.  
  
But, Seahawk was not to be put off. He asked again, "So what had you scowling.  
  
"We were talking about Skeletor," Adora answered, concentrating on choosing her words carefully.  
  
"Skeletor? Who's that?" Seahawk questioned.  
  
"The short of it is," Adora sighed, "is that he was a pupil of Hordak's."   
  
"Hordak? Why does everything come back to him?" Seahawk wondered.  
  
"I don't know," Adora replied truthfully. "I have my theories, but it's a discussion for when we're not surrounded by the whole court."  
  
Seahawk nodded, he could accept that. "You didn't know what all you were getting into when you met your brother for the first time, did you?"  
  
Adora laughed, "No, I most certainly did not… In fact, I pulled a gun on He-Man."  
  
"Why do I think I should be glad you didn't do that to me when we first met?" Seahawk teased with a grin tugging at one corner of his mouth.  
  
That grin had her stomach flip-flopping again and this time it had nothing to do with nervousness. She smiled in return and said, "Hrmm…maybe you should be."  
  
Seahawk leaned in and captured her mouth for a sweet kiss that was full of promise.  
  
"I think," Adora said a bit breathlessly after Seahawk ended the short kiss, "That this is a 'discussion' that we will have to continue later on."  
  
"You think so?" Seahawk questioned her, his grin making the corners of his eyes crinkle now.  
  
"Oh, I think so," Adora answered, a smile lighting up her face.   
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Up ahead at the entrance to the ball room, Randor watched the pirate captain from Etheria kiss his daughter. He couldn't keep his frown from carving his mouth downward. He wasn't ready to let Adora go - he had barely gotten a chance to know the remarkable young woman who was his daughter and here was this pirate, self-admitted pirate, looking to claim her as his. He became lost in his thoughts, the frown still carving his face until he felt a not-so-gentle nudge in his side.  
  
"You're frowning," Marlena told him, a knowing smile lighting her face up.  
  
"Oh, I guess I am," Randor admitted, wiping the frown off his face.  
  
"You knew it was going to happen sooner or later," Marlena commented sagely, knowing what put that frown on his face. She had always seemed to know what he was thinking.  
  
"But, so soon? And why, but the ancients, couldn't it have been someone from Eternia?" Randor protested, not ready to admit he had lost this particular fight before it had even begun.  
  
Marlena smiled in understanding and said, "This particular moment is not the time to have this discussion."  
  
"Of course, but that doesn't mean I have to like it," Randor grumbled, knowing his wife was right.   
  
"Put it aside for this night, Randor," Marlena told him quietly in a no-nonsense tone.   
  
Knowing she was right, didn't make it any easier for him to quit scowling as Adora and Seahawk approached. It was with effort that he put aside his feelings on the matter and turned to speak with one of the nobles who was waiting to have a word with him.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Marlena sighed inwardly at her husband's displeasure. She was more prepared for Adora finding someone to love, she thought wryly, than her husband was. Of course, there was the whole cultural difference there too, she thought to herself with small laugh. Whatever it was, she was determined to get him to lay aside his knee-jerk reaction of disproval and accept the Etherian pirate. She watched them enter the ballroom focused more on each other than anything else. They made a striking couple and she did have to give points to the Etherian for his determination to find her after Adora had been caught in Shadoweaver's spell.   
  
Knowing that when her husband started talking with Lord Kurasaka, who was another scholar, he'd be lost to her for hours, Marlena caught the eye of the orchestra conductor and nodded to him to start the first dance. She wrapped her hands around Randor's arm and said, "Excuse me, Lord Kurasaka, but I'm stealing my husband back for the first dance."  
  
Lord Kurasaka bowed to her, "Of course, my queen."  
  
"Thank you," Marlena smiled at the scholarly nobleman and led her husband out to the dance floor.  
  
Randor willingly led her out to lead the first dance. He looked down at her "You are one very manipulative woman, aren't you?"  
  
"Of course I am," Marlena agreed, smiling. "If I wasn't, you would have stood there all night talking to Lord Kurasaka, and it would have been bad form on our part not to lead the first dance."  
  
"Bad form, hrm?" Randor questioned as they made their first circuit around the dance floor.  
  
Marlena laughed and answered, "Definitely bad form."  
  
"Is this -" Randor said, sending her into a spin with just a few deft moves and giving himself a moment to admire her form as her dress swirled out around her ankles, then bringing her back to him, "-bad form?"  
  
Marlena laughed again as they started their second circuit and this time, were joined in by their children and their partners and other nobles. She had distracted her husband from his grousing very successfully it seemed.   
  
"I don't know," she drew out the words. "I think I need to see it again."  
  
"You do?" Randor asked, a gleam lighting up his eyes. Without warning, he spun his wife out in another spin.  
  
Laughing, she came back to him, certain that she had accomplished her goal of the moment. She watched with approval as Teela and Adam smoothly moved across the dance floor. All those years of various lessons the two had been 'forced' through together had formed a strong partnership between them, now if only she could get them to see that… She tucked that away for later on. She had another goal for the night and that was to work on convincing her husband about their daughter's choice. Let the nobility wonder, she thought with a private smile, for tonight her family was all under one roof and her plans were falling into place. 


	18. Chapter 13 Part 5 And the Road That we M...

Chapter XIII  
Part 5 - Charm, Divide and Conquer  
  
Adam watched his mother take his father in hand with a smile on her face. She was clearly enjoying how she had set things up tonight, and it was rare that he got to see his parents truly enjoy themselves in a public setting. He turned to Teela and said, "Shall we dance?"  
  
"We'd better get out there before we're accused of not following protocol again," Teela answered him with a grin, and held out her hand for him to take.  
  
They headed for the dance floor to lead the first dance of the night.  
  
Adam found himself searching for something to say to Teela to keep their undeclared truce and settled for, "You really do look great tonight, Teela."  
  
Teela blushed and said, "Thank you, Adam."  
  
They moved together around the dance floor smoothly with Teela almost interpreting Adam's moves before he signaled them with a slight hand pressure either at her waist or the hand that he held. It was several moments before either one said anything else and it was Teela who broke the silence.  
  
"I'd forgotten how well you do dance, Adam."  
  
Adam smiled at the compliment and answered, "I'm only as good as my partner."  
  
Teela blushed lightly and disclaimed his praise. "I guess all those years of etiquette and dancing lessons paid off."  
  
"I'd say they did," Adam said warmly.  
  
The first waltz came to an end, and they turned to applaud the orchestra. The conductor bowed to the King and Queen who then quit the dance floor, having done their royal duty for the moment by opening the dancing. The conductor turned back to the orchestra and talked briefly to the mandolin player before nodding and striking the beat with his baton. The mandolin player started first on a whirling reel. After several measures, the lead violinist joined in, followed by the pianist, then the drummer keeping the beat as the rest of the orchestra finally joined the mandolin player. The dance was one of those deceptively simple-seeming reels, but it became harder to keep up as the song progressed and the beat became faster.  
  
Adam spotted Adora and Seahawk at the edge of the dance floor, looking unsure if they were going to join in the dance. He looked back to Teela and asked, "How about I take this dance with Adora and you take Seahawk? Between the two of us, we ought to get them through this without any toes being smashed."  
  
"Sure," Teela answered with a grin.  
  
"Let's go," Adam said, swinging Teela around and moving towards his sister and companion.  
  
It was almost too easy with just the lightest of pressure to twirl Teela right to Seahawk, leaving him free to grab up Adora. "Come on, Sis. You can do this one."  
  
Adora chuckled. "I'm not so sure, brother dear."  
  
"Have some faith in me, Adora," Adam laughed, giving her no chance to hesitate.  
  
"Oh, I do, Adam! It's my own feet I don't trust."  
  
"I don't believe that," Adam answered, leading her through the steps of the dance.  
  
Adora laughed as Adam sent her into a spin before pulling her back. Adam had a smile on his face as he pulled her back in, noting that Seahawk had followed his lead with Teela.  
  
"How do you think dinner went?" he asked his sister.  
  
"Mother is meddling but Seahawk charmed her completely, " Adora answered.  
  
"Charmed Mother, hm?"  
  
"Definitely," Adora laughed. "But I think that was the plan."  
  
"His or hers?" Adam questioned with a cocked eyebrow.  
  
"I'll have to say it was our dear mother's. Her hand has been all over everything tonight. Especially between you and Teela."  
  
Adam looked faintly embarrassed and said, "I think she's trying to make a statement on who she thinks my wife should be."  
  
Adora smiled and remarked, "I can see that, but the question remains - who is she trying to tell?"  
  
Adam looked over Adora's shoulder to see Teela being led through a spin by Seahawk and before he could answer his sister's question, it was his turn to lead her through a spin.  
  
From there, the reel picked up pace and didn't leave them breath for talking as they worked their way around the dance floor with the other couples who were brave enough to try and keep up with the whirling gig.

* * *

The evening progressed and despite having to wear a dress, Teela found herself enjoying it. She was still off-balance from Adam's behavior. He talked to the nobles, but his concentration always seemed to be centered on her. She was slightly unnerved by it, since Adam had never in recent years seemed to give much thought or concentration to anything except sleeping or fishing. Maybe she had misjudged his so-called laziness. He always seemed to know what was happening around the palace after all, and he took the times to learn the names of the servants. He didn't take them for granted and always thanked them for doing the smallest thing for him. He had proved it by asking Brynna to stay with Chelsea and thanking her for it. He hadn't made it an order, he had requested it.  
  
"You know, this would be a lot easier if you told me what I'm doing here, Teela," the amused voice of the Etherian pirate interrupted her circling thoughts about Adam.  
  
Teela felt her cheeks warm, and she cursed herself for letting her thoughts center on Adam. "Oh, I'm sorry, Captain Seahawk!"  
  
"Please, I thought we'd agreed on no titles, Teela. I never was one for formalities. They tend to get in the way more often than not when you're fighting to keep your ship from being blown out of the water or sky by the Horde," Seahawk said, amusement evident in his voice.  
  
"You're right about formalities - they really have no place when you're neck deep in trouble fighting the enemy," Teela answered. She suspected the pirate had a sharp sense of humor that she didn't think she wanted pointed her way.  
  
"All right then, Teela. Where were you just now? Thinking about something?" Seahawk questioned.  
  
"Something, yes," Teela said evasively. The last thing she wanted to do was tell him she'd been thinking about Adam. She was not mooning over him! She just wondered why she was only now seeing this other side of him.  
  
"Something, or someone?" Seahawk asked, surprising her with his insight.  
  
Teela stilled for the barest fraction of a second, cursing herself for being caught off-guard. The Etherian captain was just too sharp, and she fought to keep her face from showing anything.  
  
"Someone, I'd say," Seahawk said after a moment's pause. "Brooding about it won't make things any clearer right now, and I really need to know what steps come next here."  
  
"Right," Teela said, taking a deep breath and letting it out through pursed lips. "Next up, spin…"

* * *

It was several songs later that a breathless Adora managed to reclaim Seahawk and make a temporary retreat off the dance floor. She led him through the crowds, hoping to find where Lady Euterpe was sitting.  
  
Marlena magically appeared at her side and asked, "Who are you looking for?"  
  
Adora named the elderly courtier that had given her and Seahawk her seal of approval. She wanted to know more about her grandmother.  
  
"Well, she normally sits by the terrace doors…" Marlena answered with a tilt of her head in that direction.  
  
"Thanks," Adora said and placed a quick kiss on her mother's cheek before setting off into the milling crowd once again with Seahawk at her side.  
  
They found the elderly courtier right where Marlena had said she would be and Adora could see immediately why the woman had chosen that spot. The crisp breeze brought the refreshing scent of blooming flowers with it, and Adora noticed that it was a perfect spot to keep an eagle eye on any young couple that might be of a mind to take a romantic turn in the moonlit gardens.  
  
The young man sitting next to Lady Euterpe immediately sprang to his feet and bowed to Adora, "Your highness."  
  
"Good evening," Adora said, not recalling him from the formal receiving line before dinner.  
  
"Your highness, this scamp is my grandson, Jarod Recinio, currently on leave from the royal navy." Lady Euterpe greeted them with a nod of her silvered head before making the introductions.  
  
"It's an honor to meet you, your highness." The young man grinned and bowed low over Adora's hand.  
  
"Please - no formalities. There's more than enough of that out here tonight," Adora said, waving her other hand towards the ballroom.  
  
"All right then, Princess," Jarod with another impish grin.  
  
"And this is Captain Seahawk, my dear friend from Etheria," Adora introduced Seahawk.  
  
"Royal navy?" Seahawk questioned.  
  
"I'm second mate on the Guantlet," the young man answered, shaking Seahawk's hand. "And you are a sailor, Captain?"  
  
"Yes - my own ship, - the Solar Sailor - causes many problems for the Horde navy in open waters," Seahawk said with a wicked grin.  
  
"Jarod - be the gentleman I know your mother tried to raise you to be and take the Captain to fetch some refreshments for the princess and I," Lady Euterpe commanded her grandson.  
  
Laughing the young man turned towards his grandmother, "Your wish is my command, Grandmother."  
  
"Scamp!" The elderly courtier glowered at him as he led Seahawk off. "Do sit down, Princess. My neck is getting a crick in it."  
  
"Of course," Adora said, gratefully sitting down in the chair the woman's grandson had vacated at her approach.  
  
"Now, what does a young and pretty princess at a royal ball want from me, an old lady with arthritis?" she asked archly with a raised brow.  
  
"I'd like to know more about my grandmother…" Adora answered.  
  
"I thought so. Well, to tell you all I know of her will take longer than the few minutes we have before your young man and my grandson return, but it will do for now," the lady said with a knowing smile, her crossed hands resting on top of her walking stick. "I was there when your grandfather first started paying court to your grandmother…"  
  
When Jarod and Seahawk returned, they were laughing about something. Jarod handed his grandmother her drink and asked, "So, were we gone long enough, Grandmother?"  
  
Lady Euterpe sighed and turned back to Adora, "He does have manners, Princess. He just chooses to forget them."  
  
Adora laughed, having a better sense of understanding of the woman's sense of humor. "It's actually quite refreshing not to have someone completely fawning over me because I'm 'the Princess.' I'd almost rather face off with Hordak in a battle than to deal with these courtiers. Subtlety is not part of Hordak's vocabulary."  
  
Jarod laughed loudly, earning him another glare from his grandmother. "Most courtiers don't have anything better to do with their time than to dream up new insults for each other."  
  
"Jarod!" The older woman scolded. "You shouldn't talk that way! What would your mother say?"  
  
"She'd agree, Grandmother and you know it," Jarod wasn't the least bit discouraged by her seeming displeasure.  
  
Adora watched them, unsure to be amused or alarmed.  
  
A new voice helped clear Adora's indecision. "Jarod, are you teasing Grandmother again?"  
  
"When isn't he?" Lady Euterpe snorted. "Daniella, have you met the princess and her escort, the Captain Seahawk?"  
  
The newcomer had raven black hair that was almost blue-black in the light and dark brown eyes that seemed alight with the same mischievous spirit as Jarod. She curtsied quite elegantly to Adora and said, "It's an honor to meet you, your highness."  
  
Adora looked sideways to Seahawk who seemed to be hiding a smile behind the hand that was suddenly stroking his beard.  
  
"Please, no need for formalities," Adora asked the woman, beginning to wonder if it was too late to ask the Sorceress to open a portal for her to escape back to Etheria that night.  
  
"Hey, Coz," Jarod said.  
  
Daniella inclined her head and said, "If you insist."  
  
"You have to admit, Adora, it's better than having Horde troopers yelling, "It's that rebel, Adora! Get her!" Seahawk teased.  
  
Adora ruefully laughed, "There is that."  
  
Danielle regarded Adora and Seahawk with wide eyes, "Then what I hear one of Lady A's cronies spouting off just now was true?"  
  
"Probably," Seahawk answered with a grin. "We shocked the poor dear lady by telling her the scandalous truth."  
  
Lady Euterpe mildly commented, "She wouldn't know the truth unless it bit her on the nose - even then she'd find some way to turn it inside out."  
  
"Yes, I got that impression from my brother and Teela," Adora chuckled.  
  
The older woman looked out to the dance floor, "I do believe you've hidden back here long enough for now, Princess. It's time for you and your pirate captain to go back out there and charm not only your parents, but the rest of the crowd here. Set them all on their ear and leave them to battle it out over whether or not you're truly scandalous."  
  
"Yes, ma'am," Adora said with a smile, knowing she had just been given her marching orders by the elderly courtier. She looked back up to Seahawk and said, "Are you ready to go back out there?"  
  
"Of course," he answered and then executed a perfect bow. "May I have this dance, Princess?"  
  
Adora laughed and held out a hand for him to help her up from the chair.  
  
"Swen did manage to teach me some things," he said with a grin. He helped Adora up from the chair and turned to bow deeply to Lady Euterpe, "It's been an honor talking with you, m'lady."  
  
Lady Euterpe smiled and remarked, "Remember what I said, Princess."  
  
"I will," Adora promised and with one arm tucked in at Seahawk's elbow and her other hand holding her skirts, they made their way back to the dance floor.  
  
The orchestra was just coming back from their first break and the orchestra leader started off with a slow ballad that even the King and Queen came back out to the dance floor for.  
  
Seahawk quietly asked Adora, "How soon do you think we can make our escape?"  
  
"I don't know. Why?"  
  
"Because, my dear Princess, we haven't been alone for more than two minutes since you woke up today and even before all this latest insanity with Hordak happened, you and I were going to spend some time together."  
  
"Yes, we were, weren't we?" Adora murmured in response, looking sideways. She would have liked to have left right then, but they still had Lady Euterpe's plan of divide and conquer to follow.  
  
After a moment's pause, she continued, "Not before this set is over. Maybe after the next one. We'll have to see…"  
  
"I can be patient a little longer," Seahawk said, his smile full of promise.  
  
Thus, the two - guided by Jarod and Daniella - set out to charm everyone they talked to and danced with. The final dance of the set found Adora dancing with her father.  
  
"I know I've said it before, but by the Ancients, I'm glad you're home, Adora."  
  
"I'm glad to be home too," Adora answered. She had vague memories of excruciating pain and extreme, bone-numbing cold that made her want to shiver.  
  
Randor was quiet for a couple of measures as they glided about the dance floor and Adora knew he was working on some way to bring Seahawk into the conversation. Finally he said, "Now about your pirate captain…"  
  
"Yes?" Adora asked calmly.  
  
"I had hoped you would find someone among the nobility here on Eternia…"  
  
"Oh Father, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's not going to happen."  
  
"Your pirate captain?"  
  
"Yes," Adora nodded.  
  
Randor sighed, "But he's a pirate."  
  
"Our family doesn't do things the easy way, Father," Adora pointed out. "There's Grandfather and then there's you and Mother…"  
  
"Your grandfather is hardly an example to use - " Randor tried to bluster.  
  
"And whyever not? Didn't he even admit that it was his own fault he got caught in that trap?" Adora countered. This was one battle that she would not lose. "That he rushed into it blindly."  
  
"Well…" Randor paused.  
  
Adora, sensing her victory was close, pressed on. "Take you and Mother. Not only is she not nobility, but she's from a different planet altogether."  
  
He could say nothing to that either. She was right and they both knew it. "No, I guess we don't do things the easy way." Then Randor asked in all seriousness, "Does my approval mean that much to you?"  
  
"It does, yes," Adora answered.  
  
"I sense a 'but' here."  
  
"Yes. As much as it would mean to me to have your approval, I'm not going to ruin something precious because you don't like it." What she didn't say was that in the end they both would be unhappy if she did end her relationship with Seahawk.  
  
Another long moment of silence as Adora let her father think about all she had said. She didn't think she needed to say anything more. She had more arguments prepared if she needed them, but she didn't want to press too hard and have him dig in his heels and refuse to give his approval. The last thing she wanted was to have him say no.  
  
Just when it seemed she was going to have to break out her other arguments, Randor finally came back to the present.  
  
"Since it means that much to you and since the points you have used are both very true, it seems my only choice is to give you my approval."  
  
"Thank you, Father," Adora said simply, trying not to grin too broadly. But her whole face lit up with joy.  
  
The song drew to a close and almost immediately, Seahawk was there with Marlena, who had a secret grin on her face.  
  
"Your Majesty, if I may, I've come to return your queen and claim your princess," Seahawk said with a small bow to Randor.  
  
"I dare say you already have, Captain Seahawk," Randor grumbled, but earned himself sharp glances from both Adora and Marlena. More gracious under the stares of his daughter and wife, he took Adora's hand and held it out for the pirate to take.  
  
"I thank you, Your Majesty," Seahawk answered, bowing deeply to the king as he took Adora's hand. 


	19. Chapter 13 Part 6 And the Road That we M...

_A/N: Many thanks to my wonderful Beta Reader Eideann for seeing what all I miss. This is part 6 of the chapter and finally the end of this part of the story. More will follow before too long here! --LN_

**Chapter 13: Part VI - Mission Accomplished, Approval Gained**

They made their way off the dance floor where Daniella and Jarod awaited with bland smiles that belied their excitement as the couple approached.

"Well, what did he say?" Jarod asked as Seahawk and Adora made it to them.

"Let's get back to your grandmother first before I say anything," Adora said, keeping her father's decision to herself for the moment.

As they followed Daniella and Jarod off to where Lady Euterpe was holding court, Seahawk commented, "I really like your mother, Adora. She was quite proud to admit she was playing the meddling mother tonight. "

Adora laughed and answered, "Why am I not surprised?"

"What? That I like her or that she admitted to meddling?"

"Her meddling." was the laughter filled answer.

As it was, Adora said nothing else until they got to Lady Euterpe's side and then let her glowing smile show again.

"Ah," Lady Euterpe said sagely. "I take it you've won your father's approval, Princess?"

"Yes," was her answer.

"Very good," the elderly noblewoman said with a nod and a smile. "You've accomplished the most important part of your mission tonight."

"I'd say," Jarod put in, signaling to a servant who was carrying a try full of champagne glasses. "I think this calls for a toast, Princess."

"You were pretty sure what the answer was going to be, weren't you?" Seahawk wryly remarked to the older woman.

"Of course I was," was the enigmatic answer. "When it comes right down to it, I figured he would give in. After all, a father would ultimately want to see his daughter after all."

Jarod passed glasses of champagne around and saluted, "To your happiness, Princess and to having the courage to pursue it."

"Here, here," echoed Daniella, raising her glass for the toast.

Adam caught up with his parents after his father was once more engaged in conversation with Lord Karusaka and the Ambassador.

"You're looking awfully please with yourself, Mother," he remarked.

"And why shouldn't I be?" Marlena answered, glancing at her son. "My family is all here for the moment, friends have also gathered close and your father gave in on a most important matter."

Adam studied his mother for a moment before saying, "I take it this matter is not a state matter, but something else."

"Exactly," was the enigmatic answer.

"Adora was right - you are meddling."

"Of course I am, Adam. It's my job to do so. Now, go find Teela and take her out for some fresh air in the gardens. She's got to be feeling claustrophobic about now."

That was a clear dismissal and Adam bemusedly placed a kiss on his mother's cheek, "As you wish, Mother."

Marlena watched him go for a moment before turning her attention back to the discussion her husband was happily engaged in.

Teela managed to find a semi-quiet corner to talk with her father. "It's like this trip changed him, Father - he came back so different - "

"Perhaps you are merely seeing him in a new way, Teela," Duncan suggested, his eyes scanning the crowd. He saw Adora and Seahawk being carried off by two of Lady Euterpe's grandchildren. Her figured the elderly courtier would take the princess under her wing - saving her from the social vultures of the court.

"You're no help, Father," Teela said, annoyance evident in her voice.

His daughter often rushed to judgment without seeing or hearing all the facts. Duncan wondered if her mother had been the same way when she had been Teela's age. He stifled a sigh - this was where things began to get sticky.

"Teela," he began, but changed his mind when he saw Adam's approach. "Here comes Adam. Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"Ask me what?" Adam asked with a bemused smile as he stepped up to Teela's left side.

Duncan watched with concealed amusement the myriad expressions that crossed his daughter's face as she finally settled on annoyance. He wasn't sure, but knowing his daughter, it was probably directed at both of them.

"Nothing important," she said. "Just forget it."

"All right," Adam shrugged.

"It's too crowded in here. Let's go get some air," Teela said, her temper still riding high.

"That's just what I came to do - to see if you wanted to go out in the gardens for a few minutes,"

Adam answered, refusing to let her temper get to him.

"Fine," Teela said, turning to him. "Let's go."

Adam held out his arm for her to take and she gathered up her skirts in her right hand, giving him her left.

Duncan watched them leave, wondering if Adam would ever be able to get her to let go of the anger she seemed to hold as a shield against him. He didn't envy the prince there. He carried the double responsibility as both heir and champion of Grayskull. How would Adam even begin to cope with his daughter's fiery temper?

Teela found herself still off balance with the way Adam was behaving and she didn't like it. Of course, her father's non-answer didn't help either.

She wanted to be mad at Adam, but he had done nothing wrong all evening. How could she be mad at him for that? Perhaps her father was right - maybe she was seeing him in a new light…

"You're thinking awfully hard, Teela," Adam interrupted her thinking mid-stride.

She flashed him an annoyed look and opened her mouth to make a biting remark. She abruptly stopped and closed her mouth before she said anything. Wait a second, she told herself. He hasn't done anything wrong all night! You have no right to be snapping like a shrew at him!

"Sorry," she finally said out loud. "I'm chasing some thoughts around in a circle."

"Anything you want to talk about?" Adam asked.

There he was again, she thought, always asking about someone else before himself.

"I don't know if I'm ready to yet, Adam," she admitted, hating that she was so undecided.

"All right," he accepted her answer with a shrug.

Deciding to change the course of the conversation away from her, she asked, "How do you think the night is going?"

"Very successfully," Adam answered, his face full of humor.

"What's so funny?" Teela asked.

"My mother - Adora was right, she is meddling," he chuckled.

"Oh," Teela sighed in relief. He wasn't laughing at her. "Queen Marlena admitted that?"

"Quite proudly," Adam was still chuckling.

She took a deep breath of the cool night air, grateful to be out of the crowded ballroom. Her thoughts turned inward again and she had to admit to herself that not only did it feel good not to be sniping at Adam for a change, it felt right. Maybe it was time she took a deeper look into herself. The distance that was now between them couldn't be entirely his fault…

It was towards the end of the third set that Adam managed to get Adora as his dance partner once more.

"You've been busy tonight, Sis," he remarked.

"Oh yes - busy smiling and pretending my feet don't hurt now," Adora answered with a laugh.

"But leaving a trail of admirers in your path?" Adam asked next.

"All part of Lady Euterpe's plan - charm, divide and conquer." she admitted.

Adam laughed, "I should have guessed. She does love to tweak the court's and Lady Analya's noses."

Adora smiled, "That was the easier of the 'battles' tonight."

He knew exactly what his sister was talking about, "Father certainly was relishing his role as the overprotective parent."

"Yes, he was," Adora agreed. "However, I did get the answer I wanted."

"He said yes?" It was more of a statement than question. Their mother had obliquely told him that before she had all but ordered him to take Teela out to the gardens earlier.

Adora nodded, her face alight with pleasure at having gotten their father's consent.

"That's great - absolutely great, Adora," Adam congratulated her. "How'd you win him over?"

"By using our family history," his sister laughed. "Mother pretty much gave me the information I needed."

"Perfect!" Adam answered, laughing with her. Their mother had made her approval clear.

At the end of the dance, Jarod magically appeared at Adam's elbow.

"Your pardon, Prince Adam, but I've been commanded by my grandmother to bring your sister back to her," he said with a small bow.

"And one never disappoints your grandmother," Adam answered.

"Except for me," Jarod laughed. "I have thus far refused to get married and provide her with great-grandchildren."

"Ah yes, I know the feeling," Adam agreed.

"I'll see you later, brother dear," Adora said, placing a kiss on his cheek before letting Jarod lead her away.

Across the dance floor, Daniella did the same thing to Seahawk as he was dancing once again with Marlena.

"Your Majesty," Daniella said with a small curtsey.

"Ah - Daniella, isn't it?" Marlena asked.

"Yes, your majesty."

"Where is your officer this evening?"

"He's out on patrol, Queen Marlena," Daniella answered. "Your majesty, my grandmother, the Lady Euterpe would like a word with Captain Seahawk."

Marlena laughed, "You're being summoned, Seahawk."

"I do believe I am, your majesty and it's wise not to keep such an important lady waiting," Seahawk agreed and then bowed deeply to Marlena and said formally as he straightened back up, "It's been a pleasure dancing with you, your majesty."

"And with you, Captain Seahawk," Marlena answered, just as formally; however, her expression was anything but formal as she smiled openly at him.

Daniella led Seahawk off the floor, meeting Jarod there with Adora.

"You've done very well this evening, Princess," Lady Euterpe complimented them. "Tongues will be wagging for months to come, while the factions battle over if you're truly as scandalous as Analya is trying to paint you as being tonight."

She had both hands crossed over the top of her walking staff and looked entirely too pleased with herself.. "Now, I do believe it's time for me to take a short walk in the gardens before I set down roots in this chair."

Seahawk and Jarod both stepped forward to help her up. Once she was steady on her feet, Seahawk stepped back to Adora's side.

Lady Euterpe kept one hand on her grandson's arm and the other on her walking stick. She looked back to Adora and Seahawk and said, "I do believe it's a pleasant evening outside - perfect for a stroll in the garden. Wouldn't you say, Princess?"

"Yes, ma'am, I believe you're right," Adora answered, seeing where the courtier was leading.

The small group walked the gardens at a slow pace to accommodate the older woman's arthritic joints as much to simply enjoy the mild breeze and fresh floral scent. The pathways Lady Euterpe chose were less well lit the further away from the ballroom they walked. It was at one crossroads that had a pair of guards posted that Adora knew they were closer to the royal quarters than the ballroom.

"And here, Princess, is where we part ways. I believe you have a guest you want to check in on and I should get back to the ballroom."

Adora was caught by surprise, "How -?" She stopped and shook her head, "I don't want to know. Some things are just better left unknown."

Lady Euterpe smiled and nodded, "Quite true, Princess. Have a good evening, my dear."

"Thank you, my lady for your help this evening," Seahawk said in farewell.

"Think nothing of it, young man. It was my pleasure to do so." answered the older woman.

Jarod and Daniella each briefly said goodnight and turned to leave with their grandmother.

Seahawk looked to Adora and said, "We're alone?"

"Just about," Adora answered, aware of the two guardsmen stationed just a few feet away.

"Then, might I suggest, Princess, we make use of the escape route that was provided for us?" Seahawk said.

"That sounds like a very good suggestion, Captain," Adora murmured, moving closer to him.

Seahawk pressed a quick kiss to her face before turning and wrapping an arm around her waist to lead her past the guards who snapped to attention at their passing. They acknowledged the pair of guards with the briefest of nods before heading past them and into the palace.

They ended up in Seahawk's quarters because it was closer after they briefly checked in on Chelsea to find that another of the chambermaids was now sitting with Chelsea who again assured them that Miss Cameron was indeed fine and still had not wakened at all.

Adora spied the tray sitting on table with an envelope propped up in front of it that had her name handwritten across the front of it.

"You didn't set this up, did you?" She asked Seahawk, almost certain he didn't.

"No, I wouldn't know where to begin…" Seahawk answered, dropping his head to place feather light kisses down the side of her neck.

Adora shivered and then stepped forward to pick the envelope up off the table. The handwriting was feminine and Adora recognized it after a moment as her mother's. She opened the envelope to read the note inside. "Adora, my dearest - snacks to see you and your pirate captain through the night without having to worry about finding your way over to raid the palace kitchens. Love, Mother."

"Your mother was quite certain about this, wasn't she?" Seahawk questioned, stepping forward to continue where he left off and continue placing feather light kisses along her collarbone.

"Hmm, yes," Adora agreed breathlessly.

"I think those snacks will come in handy later on," Seahawk remarked, steering them towards the bedroom.

"Hmmm…" Adora sighed in agreement.


	20. Chapter 14 It's a Kind of Magic

**She-Ra - Lost in a Lost World  
Chapter 14, Part I**

_"One shaft of light that shows the way  
No mortal man can win this day  
It's a kind of magic  
The bell that rings inside your mind  
Is challenging the doors of time  
It's a kind of magic" – A Kind of Magic, Queen_

Teela, restless and contemplative after the ball had finally ended, found herself unable to sleep. She carefully changed out of the gown and into a clean uniform. Still unable to settle down, she washed her face and paced her quarters. She paused at her window, staring unseeing at the mostly unlit courtyard. It was pointless trying to talk to her father; she could see his darkened window from her vantage point. He was more than likely asleep, since even the windows in his workshop where darkened.

Giving up on even staying in her quarters, Teela grabbed her data pad and headed for the door. She figured she would walk the outer walls of the palace and do spot security checks. Just because Skeletor had been quiet for some time, didn't mean he would stay that way.

The guards at each checkpoint felt the same way. They knew the master of Snake Mountain had been quiet for too long. Despite the late hour, they were alert and scanning the sky and ground for any possible movement by Skeletor and his minions.

Unable to find fault with the guards on the perimeter of the palace, Teela continued on still too restless to sleep. She circled on through the palace, finding that the guards at either end of the hallway leading to the royal suite were just as vigilant as the guards on the walls. They took their duty of safeguarding their monarchs seriously.

Teela nodded to them and continued on her way. The guards assigned to the king and queen were perhaps even more elite than the Masters, since their whole purpose was to guard the King and Queen and let no threat get close to them.

Eventually, her steps took her to the corridor where Adam's quarters were. Here she paused in uncertainty. Never mind the fact that Adam's sister Adora, her fiancé, Captain Seahawk and the Terran guest, Chelsea Cameron were also in residence there, she still felt awkward. It wasn't that she didn't belong in the corridor - she had more than every right to be there since she was Adam's bodyguard. It was her own conflicting emotions about him that made her pause.

Perhaps, whispered her conscience, it was time to quit judging him solely on appearances. Hadn't her father told her on more than one occasion that appearances can be deceptive? And, hadn't she been doing just that to Adam? She was guilty of judging him by the façade he projected of the lazy prince. She never bothered to look beyond that.

She needed to talk to someone about this and quickly ruled out her father for he was no doubt asleep. Queen Marlena she couldn't talk to because, well, she was Adam's mother and she was clearly pushing for a relationship between her and Adam. Adora she decided against because she didn't know the princess that well and Teela didn't think she would be willing to talk to her about her self-doubts. She slowly moved forward again, still not sure of where she was headed in more ways than one.

Teela paused again briefly outside the door to Chelsea's suite. She barely knew the woman from Earth, but she needed an impartial ear to pour all her thoughts and doubts into. She entered the suite to find a different woman than the maid Brynna sitting doing needle point in the corner of the room with the light shielded to keep from disturbing Chelsea whom Teela noticed still hadn't moved. Her thoughts wandering, Teela envied the woman her patience to do something that seemed so tedious to her.

"Good morn to you, Captain Teela," the maid greeted softly. "I take it the ball this evening went well?"

Teela shrugged, "I guess you could say that. Skeletor didn't attack and I managed not to make a total fool of myself."

"I'm sure you did better than that," the woman chided.

"Yes," Teela answered with another shrug.

"And that surprises you?"

"It's just – I'm a Captain of the Royal Guard. I'm also Prince Adam's bodyguard. I should have been there in uniform…" Teela's voice trailed off.

"Sometimes being out of uniform is the best way to provide protection. If trouble were to occur, the attackers would not be looking at you as an obstacle to surpass and you could use that to your advantage."

"There is that," Teela admitted. She hadn't been unarmed, even though she was wearing that gorgeous dress from Queen Marlena.

"Now, I know that the Princess and her charming fellow have already retired for the evening, as has Prince Adam. Why are you still awake?"

"Too restless," Teela said, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

The older woman merely nodded and turned her attention momentarily to the needlepoint work in her lap then made a show of checking the decorative timepiece she had tucked in a breast pocket.

"My, it is getting to be late," the woman said, as if surprised at the time. "I have duties I need to attend to."

"So early?" Teela was surprised.

"My dear, this is the best time to get some of my work done. Before the rest of the palace starts to rise. This leaves me with more time to handle the little things that crop up during the day that need to be dealt with," the woman said, putting her stitching aside. "Speaking of which, I have schedules to adjust for Brynna and Elena – the two maids who were here most of the day. Queen Marlena asked if they could have an extra day off with pay for the time they spent here."

"Oh," Teela answered, not surprised by the Queen's actions. It seemed that Adam was very much like his mother in that respect – always looking out for others. Then she said, "If you need to go…"

"Thank you, my dear. If you would stay here, that would allow me to get a start on my work," the woman smiled and stood up to put her sampler and spare threads back in her bag.

It was only after the woman was gone that Teela remembered that the woman was the head of the palace housekeeping, followed quickly by the realization that she had been manipulated into staying there with Chelsea once more. But, she thought, hadn't she come in there to pour out troubles into a quiet ear? Madame Claudia had obviously recognized her need and left her to do just that. She checked the chronometer on her datapad. She'd been awake almost a full day now and was starting to feel the drain, but still was too keyed up to sleep.

She sighed and said aloud, "What am I doing here? I should be back in my quarters sleeping."

Teela sighed again and dragged a chair over to the bedside. "I don't know. Maybe you can help me figure it out, since you have the ability to look at this from the outside."

Of course there was no answer from Chelsea who continued to sleep on.

Teela sat down in the chair with a huff, "I don't know what to do about Adam. It's like he's a completely different person since he came back from visiting your world. Is this the real Adam I'm seeing? Or is this just a different face he's putting on?"

She sprawled inelegantly in the chair with her legs stretched out in front of her, datapad in her lap and her arms hanging down over the sides of the chair. A moment later she changed her position, bringing her legs in and sitting up straight before leaning forward.

"I mean, no matter what I complained about yesterday, he either ignored it or turned it into a way to compliment me. That – that's something I normally hate, but he's sincere. I can't be mad at him when he's sincere like that. It totally throws me off balance coming from him and it drives me up the wall," Teela said all in a rush.

If she expected any sort of answer from Chelsea, she didn't get one as the woman continued to sleep on.

Teela sighed and looked at her datapad. "Why does he have to be so confusing? I don't suppose you know what the answer to that question is?'

Chelsea slept on, providing no answers to Teela's quandary.

With another sigh, Teela looked down again at her datapad. "Reports. I was hoping you'd provide me a reason not to do them." She looked over at Chelsea who didn't provide her with any answers. "I guess not."

She forced her attention to the reports that were waiting for her to finish on her datapad, trying to put all the troubling and confusing thoughts she had about Adam out of her head for the time being.

* * *

Chelsea rolled to her left side, drifting towards consciousness. The first thing that drifted into her consciousness was the sounds of birds merrily chirping away. Too comfortable at first to figure it out, she let the sounds wash over her. The next thing was her nose itching. She tried to ignore it at first, but it wouldn't go away. Next she tried just twitching her nose, hoping to resolve it that way. No luck. Darn it, she didn't want to move, she was just too comfortable, but the itching in her nose wasn't going away. Reluctantly, she lifted her right arm up from under the blankets, feeling momentary resistance as something snagged on her wrist. Again, that should have puzzled her, but it didn't because the most pressing thing to do was to scratch her nose. Whatever was on her wrist that had snagged on the blankets slid forward and then tickled her nose as she was trying to itch it. 

_No,_ she thought. _Sneeze! I don't want to sneeze! Then that means I'll wake up!_ Too late and she sneezed despite trying to hold it back. She shifted her hand to block her nose and move what was tickling her nose out of the way so she wouldn't sneeze again.

She heard a tired, but alert voice asking, "Chelsea?"

Wait a second. She didn't recognize that voice. She was home alone at her grandparents' house, wasn't she? Birds? It was the middle of winter in Colorado and they were in the middle of a blizzard for Pete's sake!

Reluctantly she opened her eyes to see what was on her wrist, since she couldn't remember going to bed with any jewelry on. A yellow hospital band? How the hell had she wound up with a hospital band on her wrist? Her memory was a blank and she still couldn't put a face to the voice that was behind her. Confused, she rolled over in the luxurious bed, noticing the softness of the sheets covering her. This was so not her grandparents' house.

"Chelsea?" the voice called again and this time, Chelsea opened her eyes and blinked a few times to focus on a woman with red hair wearing some sort of uniform.

It took Chelsea a moment to put a name to her. "Teela?"

"Yes. About time you woke up. How are you feeling?" Teela answered.

"Confused."

"I'm not surprised. Not every day you wake up on a totally different planet," was the wry response.

"Uhm, no. So, I'm on Eternia?" Chelsea questioned, giving up on going back to sleep. She really wasn't tired anymore and she was finding that she really had a bunch of questions she wanted answered, like how in the world she'd ended up on Eternia.

"Yep. For almost two days now," Teela answered.

"Two days? I've been asleep that long?" Chelsea was just flabbergasted. There was no other word to describe her reaction, she decided later on. She sat up in the bed and noticed she was wearing a hospital gown to match the bracelet on her wrist.

"Yep," Teela answered with a nod.

"That can't be right!" Chelsea exclaimed shaking her head in disbelief. "I can't have lost that much time!"

"Well, you've been here since the day before yesterday late afternoon," Teela answered. "Look, I'm sure that Queen Marlena and Prince Adam both will want to hear you're awake. They, along with Adam's sister, Princess Adora, can answer your questions better than I can, since they were there."

"Whoa! Wait a second, Teela! Adam's sister, Adora?" Chelsea held up a hand to stop Teela who'd moved to stand up and get the royal family.

"Yes. Adam's sister, the Princess Adora," Teela answered patiently.

Chelsea rubbed her hands down her face and said, "I'm missing something here, aren't I?"

"I'd say so," Teela replied with a small laugh. "Look, from what I understand, it's a bit of a story and it's not mine to tell, since I was stuck here on Eternia the whole time."

There was just something in Teela's voice that made Chelsea look up to the captain with a questioning look on her face.

"Prince Adam and his mother, Queen Marlena snuck out of the palace one night almost a week ago to head to Castle Grayskull and ultimately, Earth, in order to meet up with you to look for Princess Adora who'd gotten blindsided in a Horde trap and sent to Earth." Teela's voice held enough hints of annoyance and disapproval that Chelsea didn't need her gifts to tell her that the captain had not known or had a chance to join them and was not too happy about that.

Chelsea blinked and looked up at Teela in surprise. "They snuck out without you or any guards?"

"Yes."

"Not good, I take it," Chelsea asked, blinking.

"No," Teela said sharply, then stopped and drew in a deep breath, making an obvious attempt to reign in her temper. "They should have taken at least one guard, if not me!"

Chelsea shoved her unruly hair back and looked at Teela, still trying to piece everything together. "Almost a week ago?"

Teela nodded, her hands clenching on the back of the chair.

"Okay, I'm still trying to put the pieces together here," Chelsea said, taking a moment to look out the window.

"What's the last thing you do remember?" Teela asked, loosening her tight grip she had on the back of the chair.

"Uhm…" Chelsea paused and ran her hands through her hair again, racking her memory. "I remember the blizzard…" She shook her head in frustration, "It's there, but it's all just out of reach."

"Well, let me go get Adam – he can fill in the blanks for you," Teela suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, but I so want to get a shower and into something other than this wretched hospital gown," Chelsea admitted.

"Well, uhm…" it was Teela's turn to stammer. "I- don't- know about clothes…"

"Of course not," Chelsea shook her head and sighed. "It wasn't like my visit here was exactly planned."

"Huh?" Teela didn't know how to answer Chelsea.

"Never mind. At least I can go take a shower," Chelsea answered, pushing back the light blankets and standing up.

Only to have her legs decide to be rubber and not want to hold her weight. Teela's quick reflexes kept her from sliding off the edge of the bed and down to the floor. Teela kept an arm locked about Chelsea's waist, and another holding her arm to keep her upright.

"Whoa. Just take it easy for a second. Remember, you've been asleep for nearly two days," Teela cautioned.

"Yeah, that does tend to have an effect on the body. But, man, almost two days? What the heck happened?"

"It's best if I let Adam explain. He was there." Teela restated her earlier comment.

"Okay," Chelsea agreed, then she took another deep breath and huffed. "I think I've got it now, Teela, thanks."

Looking unconvinced, Teela slowly stepped back, "Don't blame me if you fall flat on your face."

Chelsea chuckled, "No, I'm sure that it's all my fault, Teela. I must have done something in order to have the Ancients decide to have fun with me by wiping my memory and turning my legs to Jell-O."

"Jello?" Teela questioned with a furrow to her eyebrows.

"Ah, never mind," Chelsea answered. She stood up straight and took a cautious step. Okay, she could do this. She was only a little wobbly. She really wanted that shower.

"You look like a toddler just learning to walk," Teela commented.

"I almost feel like it, but I'm not going to stop now." Chelsea snorted and felt Teela watching her make her way across the room. With each step, she felt steadier on her feet and that shower was just calling her name. She figured it would help her clear up the mental cobwebs.


	21. Chapter 14 Part 2 It's a Kind of Magic

**She-Ra: Lost in a Lost World  
Chapter 14, Part 2**

Teela reluctantly turned and left the suite. Immediately, she ran into Adam and Cringer.

"Good morning, Teela," Adam said with a nod.

Cringer rubbed against her legs and butted her hand with his head.

Teela laughed and said, "Good morning to you too, Cringer."

She scratched him behind the ears and watched his eyes close in bliss. She looked up and said, "Good morning, Adam."

Adam smiled and said, "You look good, Teela."

"What?" Teela was surprised. She hadn't really slept all night, and she was just wearing her uniform as usual, then she remembered – she hadn't taken her hair down from the previous night. "Oh, my hair. I never took it down."

"It still looks good." Adam said warmly.

"Oh, thank you," Teela said, fighting not to blush at the compliment.

"What are you doing over here so early? I'm not late for a sparring session am I?" Adam asked with a teasing grin.

Teela couldn't help it this time, her face flushed. Good grief! He was flirting with her! "Uhm, n-no. I- I couldn't sleep last night and so I ended up sitting with Chelsea."

Adam nodded and asked, "How's she doing?"

"Oh! That's what I came to tell you! She's awake!"

"When?" Adam asked next, his relief evident on his face.

"Just a few minutes ago. Her memories are a bit scattered, but she's awake."

"Good to know. Thanks, Teela, I appreciate it."

"I knew you'd want to know right away," Teela shrugged it off, still not certain how to handle this new Adam she was seeing.

"Where are you off to now?"

"To find your mother – she'll want to know too and to find her some clothes…"

"Yes, there is that…" Adam conceded. "It wasn't as if she exactly planned her visit here this time either. Well, shall we?"

Again, he held out an arm for her to take, just like he had last night and she found herself taking it before she had a chance to think about it. They headed off to the informal dining room that was near his parents' suite.

Adam kept from asking her why she couldn't sleep last night and Teela couldn't have been more grateful. She was so not ready to admit to him that he was the reason behind her insomnia.

Chelsea stood at first in the shower, with her hands braced against the rear wall of the stall, letting the water beat down on muscles in her back that were sore from the two days she had spent sleeping.

Her memories were in a jumbled heap – like a yarn bag that all the skeins had gotten tangled and twisted together and almost impossible to sort out. She had a memory of finding Adam's sister Adora in the snow. She knew now that Adora was his twin. That much she remembered while waiting for the shower to heat up.

"The dream!" se exclaimed, her head snapping up as the memory worked itself free of the tangled knot. "That's how this all started!"

She washed her hair as the dream worked itself free in her memory, that terrifying nightmare where she had dreamed the night through Adora's eyes. Another memory came loose and this one was of her doing an acupuncture treatment on someone. She couldn't see the face, but knew it was Adora she was working on. Trying to stabilize the right knee and working to keep her fever down. Another memory surfaced and it was her barely dodging a blow aimed at her face by a delirious Adora. She should have a good bruise on her right arm, but there wasn't even a hint of the bruise being there.

A bruise like that would take at least a week to heal, and she knew she wasn't missing that much time. The lack of bruising indicated a Healing and she knew it was a foolish waste of energy to do a Healing for something the body could take care of by itself in a few days. That in itself; along with the hospital gown, told her it was a major Healing and that something had to have gone completely sideways for her to have needed any such thing.

Another memory jarred loose – a moment of pure panic. Waking up to see Marlena standing over her and a breathing tube down her throat. What the - ? The force of the memory was frightening. This remembering things out of sequence and only in bits and pieces was going to drive her stark, raving mad here – with frustration if nothing else.

She looked up and said, "Are you trying to drive me mad here? If so, you're doing a good job!"

Chelsea huffed a sigh and went back to rinsing the shampoo out of her hair. She sighed again and decided that she just might have to spend the day in meditation in order to sort out the jumbled memories in her head. She really didn't want to do that. – She was tired of being still and wanted to do something. It looked to be a gorgeous day out there and she needed to feel the warm sun on her face.

She took her time, hoping that when she got out of the shower, Teela would be back not only with clothes for her to wear, but food as well. She was hungry and her stomach was reminding her that not only had it been two days since she'd eaten, she'd had a major Healing done on her and thus, energy needed to be replenished. That jogged another memory loose and this one had her making scrambled eggs and looking out at the snow covered mountains after the storm had finally cleared. That one was definitely out of sequence; she got the feeling that it was the day that she was supposed to take Adora back to meet Adam and Marlena.

She paused for a second. Okay, that memory was definitely out of sequence. This was really getting old fast and she really was tired of this 'hunt and peck' game the fates were playing with her.

When she felt that she was going to turn into a prune if she stayed in the shower, she finally emerged and wrapped herself in one of the large towels.

* * *

Teela and Adam entered the small dining room to find the king and queen seated next to each other, poring over some documents.

"Hard at work already?" Adam teased his mother after nodding to his father.

"Helping your father play catch up still," Marlena answered with a smile as Adam brushed a kiss on her cheek.

"Good morning, Teela," Marlena said warmly, clearly approving of her being at Adam's side.

"Good morning, Queen Marlena," Teela answered, fighting to keep from showing her unease at the matchmaking the Queen was doing. "I knew you'd want to know – Chelsea is awake."

"She is? Wonderful," Marlena said. "How is she?"

"A bit confused and full of questions," Teela reported.

"Not surprising," Marlena remarked, her expression thoughtful. "Clothes…"

Randor looked from his report to look questioningly at his wife, "Hrm?"

"Clothes, dear. We did leave rather abruptly," she answered him. "Well, I'll take care of that."

"I'm sure you will," Randor said with dry humor.

Marlena took one last sip of her tea, set aside the paperwork she was looking at and stood up. "Ill see to that now. Adam, why don't you –"

"Bring some food and start answering her questions?" Adam finished, seeing where his mother was leading.

"Exactly," Marlena said with an approving smile.

Clearly, those two had come to some sort of understanding while they were away. Teela was almost jealous, but realized that she still had that with her father. She still could turn to him with almost any problem and he'd listen to her without judgment.

Just then, one of the servants materialized to take her plate and mug and turned to Prince Adam to ask what he wanted for breakfast.

Adam asked for two trays, then turned to Teela and asked, "Have you eaten yet?"

She shook her head no.

"Great, then you get to be my moral support," Adam said with a teasing grin, before he turned back to the servant. "Make that three trays – fruit, toast, bacon, eggs and deliver them to Miss Cameron's suite."

"Certainly, Your Highness," the servant answered with a bow. "Something to drink with that?"

"Tea and juice," Adam replied after a quick glance to Teela and receiving a confirming nod from her.

"Anything else, Your Highness?" the servant asked.

"No, I think that will cover it, thank you," Adam stated.

"Very well then, Prince Adam. I'll see to it immediately," the servant said with a bow and left to take care of the food.

"If you'll excuse me, Father, I'd better get back to face Chelsea's interrogation."

Randor chuckled, "Better you than me, son. Will I see you at court this afternoon?"

"Is there anything important you want me there for, Father? I thought that I might see if I could convince Adora and Seahawk to come out for a picnic.

Randor looked at the schedule his secretary had put with the reports. "Nothing urgent, but if you wouldn't mind doing some research for me…"

"I'll see what I can do," Adam promised his father.

"Great. I'll get you the list of what I need," Randor nodded.

"Why don't I come by your office as soon as I get done answering Chelsea's question?" Adam suggested.

"That would be perfect. I'm sure I have more there that I could use your help on," Randor said.

Adam smiled and said, "I'll catch up with you in a bit, Father. I'd better go answer Chelsea's questions."

Randor chuckled and turned his attention back to the reports in front of him.

Adam turned back to Teela and asked, "Ready to go?"

She nodded still too unsettled by this new side of Adam she was seeing to say anything. It was definitely going to take some getting used to!


	22. Chapter 14 Part 3 It's a Kind of Magic

**Lost in a Lost World  
Chapter 14, Part 3**

Marlena was at the door to her suite, looking to find something in her closet that might fit Chelsea without too much modification when Madame Claudia, the head of housekeeping caught up to her.

Marlena was closer in size to her than either Adora or Teela and she didn't think Teela had much in her closet that wasn't a uniform of some sorts. She was going to have to fix that one of these days, was the errant thought in her mind as she saw the head of housekeeping waiting for her.

"Madame Claudia, what can I do for you?"

"It's more like what I can do for you, Your Majesty," the woman answered. "Brynna recognized the problem with Miss Cameron's wardrobe – or rather lack thereof and brought it to my attention. This should help to provide a temporary remedy to the situation."

She held out a deceptively simple outfit for Marlena's inspection. A wrap-around top with embroidery along the deep v-neckline and sleeves that came down just past the wearer's elbows was designed to tie at the side. Matching it, Madame Claudia offered a pair of harem-style pants: these tied at the waist, and were covered by an attached false "skirt," also embroidered with small flowers in multitudes of colors. The whole outfit went from a robin's egg blue to a deep midnight blue. It was completed with a pair of suede half boots in midnight blue.

Marlena stared at the outfit that the woman handed her. "It seems that you and your staff are not only one step ahead of me, but also very talented with needle and thread."

"Brynna and Elena were both raised in the country, Your Majesty. They were taught to sew almost before they could walk. They were expected to make their own clothes and thus, are quite handy with needle and thread. They made the outfit to be adjusted more to the wearer's actual size. I merely did the embroidery."

"But, the cloth. This is incredible. Where did you get it?" Marlena asked.

"Connections, Queen Marlena," the younger woman answered with a mysterious smile.

"Well, would your connections be willing to help me out today in providing more clothes for Miss Cameron?" Marlena questioned with a raised eyebrow and faint smile.

"They'd be honored to, ma'am. After all, there was a sort of suggestion made that you would do so and that helped to close the deal for the fabric," the housekeeper replied with a small nod.

"Perfect," Marlena laughed. "Well, be sure to write down where I might find this 'connection' of yours so I can find them. After all, I wouldn't want to disappoint them."

"Already done, ma'am," the housekeeper said, holding out a pair of business cards for Marlena to take.

Marlena laughed. "You are definitely one step ahead of me."

"It's part of the job, Your Majesty," the housekeeper answered. "It's how we keep things running smoothly."

"Well, I thank you for that. I don't know what we'd do with out you," Marlena said, still amazed by the outfit "Thank you!"

With the outfit in hand, she hurried off.

* * *

Chelsea emerged from the steam-filled bathroom to find no sign of Teela. She sighed and began to dry off. She wondered if she wouldn't find at least something to put on. The closet was empty, but the top drawer of the dresser did at least yield brand new undergarments and socks for her to wear.

She was relieved to hear Marlena's voice from the sitting room of the suite, "Chelsea – it's Marlena. I come bearing gifts."

"Please tell me you have clothes," Chelsea pleaded, wrapping the towel back around her once more and heading for the door.

"I do, thank to my incredible staff," Marlena answered with a laugh.

Chelsea stopped short at the site of the outfit Marlena held out for her. "Wow."

"I learned long ago that an efficient household runs best without interference from me and that the staff is often more aware of your needs than you are," Marlena offered for explanation. "Just as I was scrambling for something for you to wear, the head of housekeeping showed up with this."

"I'm impressed," Chelsea commented, eyeing the workmanship.

"Hurry up and get dressed. Adam and Teela aren't far behind me," Marlena ordered.

"Good. I still have some holes in my memory here that I hope you can help me clear up," Chelsea said, taking the tunic and trousers

"That we can do," Marlena promised, taking a seat in one of the chairs in the sitting room.

Chelsea headed back into the bedroom, clothes and shoes in hand to get dressed. She slipped the clothes on and tightened the knots on the top, the waistband of the pants and then the ankles of the pants. She preferred the narrowed ankle look of the pants, feeling that the bellbottom look made her look even shorter than she was. She had to turn and admire the flow of the outfit in the full-length mirror. The outfit was simple, yet had a hint of elegance.

"Amazing," she said aloud to herself. She looked so unlike her normal self of jeans and t-shirt that she had a hard time believing it was actually her reflection. She twirled again to see the skirt float out and then settle gently back into place.

"Chelsea?" Marlena called out from the other room.

"Coming," she answered, ready now to get the answers for the holes in her memory.

She walked back out to the sitting room to see that Adam and Teela had arrived together. She was surprised to note there was none of the usual hostility radiating off the Captain when normally in the company of the Prince. Instead, Teela was a mix of jumbled emotions when it came to Adam.

That was an interesting development, Chelsea noted to herself. A quick glance to Marlena confirmed her suspicisions where the Queen was concerned. She wanted a match between the two.

"Chelsea, it's good to see you awake," Adam greeted her.

Chelsea smiled wryly, "It's good to be awake, even if it is a bit disconcerting to wake up on a different planet than the one you went to sleep on."

"It is, yes," Adam agreed with a nod.

"I seem to have a few holes in my memory and I was hoping you'd help me fill them in," Chelsea crossed her arms and shifted her weight to her left hip and leg.

"Well, it is a bit of a tale," Adam admitted, offering a seat to Teela and then waving Chelsea to the other. He took the remaining chair and exchanged a wry look with his mother. "I feel like we've done this before."

"Yes," Marlena agreed with a small smile.

Before Adam and Marlena could launch into the tale, a servant knocked on the door.

"Enter," Marlena called out, taking charge of things.

The servant entered the room pushing a cart filled wit tray of covered food.

Just the sight set Chelsea's stomach to rumbling and when the servant pulled the lids off the trays as he placed them on the table; she was almost drooling in anticipation.

With much flair, the servant set the table, pouring a fresh cup of tea for Marlena and presenting it to her. Each tray was unloaded and arrayed on the placemats that the servant had produced. Even the beverages were served with a flourish, tea poured and served the way that Adam and Teela liked it, juice poured into a chilled glass and presented to Chelsea.

Chelsea tried to keep her impatience from showing but good grief she was hungry! Something of her impatience must have shown in her face, for when she looked to Marlena, the queen hid her smile behind her teacup.

Just when Chelsea could stand no more, the servant finally finished fussing over presenting the breakfast to them.

"Will there be anything else, Your Majesty?" the man asked with a bow.

"No, Tomas, we can manage it from here," Marlena answered with a smile that hid the humor she was feeling at his need to make such a presentation of the meal.

Chelsea could feel the servant's hesitation. She felt she would scream with frustration if the servant didn't leave them to their meal and discussion.

Adam backed up his mother as Tomas turned to him with a questioning look. "We'll be fine, Tomas. You did an excellent job putting all this together for us."

The servant just beamed and bowed to Adam. It seemed an eternity to an impatient Chelsea before the man finally left them alone.

She took a long drink of her juice before saying, "I thought he'd never leave."

Teela finished the bite of food she'd taken before answering, "Me too!"

They shared a laugh and Chelsea took a bit of the fruit and closed her eyes as the delicious taste burst over her tongue. It was sweet and tart and reminded her that it had been well over a day since she had last eaten.

"Now, where were we?" Marlena questioned, taking a sip of her tea.

**to be continued...**


	23. Chapter 14 Part 4 It's a Kind of Magic

**Lost in a Lost World  
Chapter 14, Part 4**

Much later that morning a pair of servants delivered trays and a note from Queen Marlena (along with the rest of Seahawk's clothing fresh from the tailor) to Adora's suite. The trays and clothing were left in the sitting room while Adora, wrapped in her robe, watched with a bemused expression.

Her mother, she thought, opening the note, didn't miss a thing.

The servants bowed to her and left the suite. Seahawk emerged from the bedroom, bare-chested rubbing his hair dry, wearing the trousers from the previous night.

"Breakfast?" he asked, coming up behind her to place a feather light kiss on her neck just below her ear.

"Yes," she answered with a shiver.

Seahawk looked over her shoulder and noticed the note in her hand. "Another note from your mother?"

"Yes. Chelsea's awake," Adora answered, skimming the note.

"Oh good. I'd really like to meet her and thank her," Seahawk remarked, moving to pour himself a strong cup of tea.

"You aren't the only one," she agreed, taking the second cup of tea he poured, sweetened and handed to her.

There was a postscript written at the bottom of the note that Adora noticed as she sat down. She read it aloud: "PS: Your brother wants to lure you and your captain away from the palace this afternoon for a picnic out in the countryside. You can find him in the library doing research for your father."

She looked up to Seahawk, "What do you think? Are you ready to see some more of Eternia today?"

"That sounds like a plan to me," Seahawk agreed, slathering up a piece of toast with jelly and handing it to her.

Adora smiled, still caught a little off-guard by how thoroughly he had come to know her likes and dislikes. Granted, there was still one big thing he didn't know and Adora wondered when she'd finally be able to tell him.

While they ate breakfast, Adora barely had to close her eyes before the link between her and Adam was open. She had noticed that it was much stronger over distances when they were both on Eternia. She figured it must be the powers of Castle Grayskull boosting their latent gifts.

He was in the palace library doing some research for their father as the note from their mother had said, but assured her that he would be done in a couple of hours – plenty of time for them to head out of the palace.

"Since we seem to have the rest of the morning free, what do you want to do?" Seahawk asked her, as they were finishing up their breakfast.

"I was thinking that we'd go take a stroll in the market again. It's just too nice to be inside," Adora said, looking outside the open window they were sitting next to.

"That sounds like a plan…"

* * *

Somehow, while Adam was in the library doing the research for his father, Teela found herself accompanying Queen Marlena and Chelsea to the marketplace once more. Even Chelsea had found herself overruled on quietly heading home by Marlena.

Shopping. It was normally something Teela thought of as a chore to be avoided for the most part. Yet, here she was in the marketplace two days running and mostly enjoying herself. She must be crazy, she thought, but shopping with Queen Marlena and Chelsea was different. The two didn't hesitate; they went after what they wanted with almost military precision. Before she knew it, Queen Marlena had found something.

"Teela? Could you come over here?" Marlena asked, bringing her out of her reverie.

"Coming," Teela answered. She saw Chelsea holding up a bolt of fabric that was a tri-color green shot through with gold thread, giving it a shimmering quality.

"What do you think, Teela?" Chelsea asked, holding up the fabric for Teela's inspection as she approached.

"It's beautiful," Teela found herself admitting.

"That it is," Queen Marlena agreed. "Do me a favor, Teela, and hold out your arm, please."

Slightly puzzled, Teela did as requested, allowing the queen to turn her forearm up and to drape a length of the fabric over it. It seemed to make her skin glow. She looked up to see the queen's pleased expression.

"Perfect," was all the Queen said.

"Huh? I don't understand," Teela questioned a bit confused. She knew Adam's mother was up to something, but wasn't quite sure what.

"Clothes, Teela," Queen Marlena answered.

"But, Queen Marlena, I don't need that many clothes…" Teela tried to protest.

Chelsea laughed and said, "Teela, I may be a fan of dressing comfortably, but even I know a woman can never have too much clothing."

"There are times when you won't want to be in uniform, Teela, and consider this a birthday present," Queen Marlena said.

Teela turned to Chelsea, hoping for support from the woman from the queen's former home world, only to find her nodding to back up what the queen had said.

"Look at it this way, if you will, Teela," Chelsea said, "It's another type of uniform. Sure it's not your normal uniform, but it's still a type of uniform."

She was outflanked, outranked and found herself being hustled off to a dressing room for measurements while Queen Marlena talked with the shop's proprietor.

After she had been measured every which way under the sun, Teela was let out of the dressing room. She found Chelsea giving her an encouraging smile.

"Don't worry, Teela," she said. "It won't be that bad. The queen knows better than to make it something completely unacceptable."

"But, what do I need with more formal clothing? I normally don't attend that many formal court functions," Teela again tried to protest.

"Look at it this way, Teela," Chelsea smiled. "You'll have it for when you do attend them. It's better to be prepared, than to be scrambling at the last minute, isn't it?"

Knowing the battle was lost didn't make it any easier for Teela, even if she really did like the way the fabric had made her skin just seem luminous. She sighed and nodded, "Yes, it is better to be prepared."

She turned her attention back to what the queen was saying, "The waistband will have to be reinforced in order for her to carry a sheathed or holstered weapon on one side and her cobra staff on the other."

The proprietor looked to Teela, seeing how she was currently armed and then turned back to Marlena, "Of course, Your Majesty."

Marlena didn't look up from the adjustments the proprietor was making on the sketch and spoke to Teela, "Don't worry, Teela. I know better than to disarm you completely. It would take a more skilled person than me to make you part with your weapons."

After a few minutes more discussion, Marlena approved the design and Teela got to see it.

The tunic design was snug across her torso and had a scalloped low cut neckline, exposing most of her upper chest. The upper back was open, a grouping of straps crisscrossing diagonally across the opening. The sleeves were long and billowy and from the design on the drawing, Teela could swear she was wearing wrist sheathes. The pants were the opposite of the tunic – wide and flowing legs, almost skirt like. The final piece of the outfit was a long, flowing tasseled scarf from the same material, again, completing the flowing concept of the design. Teela noticed that the Queen had lived up to her word and was not trying to disarm her.

"Wow," was the only thing she could think to say.

Chelsea raised her eyebrows as she studied the sketch, "That's an understatement. I love the wide leg pants, but I'm too short to pull them off. It's an incredible design."

The proprietor accepted the compliment with a proud smile and a nod, "As you will notice, Captain Teela, you will still be armed. Beautiful, but deadly, and ready to face whatever, should anything happen."

Teela shook her head, amazed at the way she was portrayed in the sketch. It was her, yes, but she just couldn't imagine herself looking that elegant.

It was her turn to be amused when the shop owner turned her attention on the petite Terran woman.

"And, how about you, Miss Cameron?" the woman asked, peering over her half-glasses.

"Me? Oh no. I plan on going home by tomorrow at the latest. I have a house to clean up, friends to pick up from the airport…" Chelsea answered, shaking her head.

Teela swallowed a laugh and said, "Wasn't it just you who said that a woman can never have too many clothes, Chelsea?"

"Yes, but I really didn't come prepared to buy anything. I didn't exactly plan on a side trip to Eternia this time," Chelsea answered, holding out her hands.

The shopkeeper looked to Queen Marlena with raised eyebrows as if to question how long she was going to let Chelsea go on.

"Chelsea, hush," was the only thing her Queen had to say in order to quiet Chelsea.

Teela smiled, enjoying that the attention was directed away from her.

The shopkeeper remarked, "Queen Marlena, are you sure they're not related? They seem to share the same stubborn streak."

Teela watched the queen laugh and answer, "I'm afraid it's just genetic make-up. Anyone with our coloring tends to be more stubborn than usual."

Chelsea blushed and agreed, "She's right."

"Of course I am. Now, let me do this, since as a mother, I can't even begin to thank you enough for what you did this past week," Queen Marlena said.

Chelsea blushed bright red, "I couldn't exactly ignore that dream. I was only following my calling."

Teela watched, amused, as the healer gave in to the queen when Marlena raised an eyebrow.

Chelsea disappeared into the dressing room to be measured every which way by the shopkeeper's assistant while the queen and the shopkeeper talked about design and colors. What came about in those few moments of discussion, was a design more flowing

Instead of trousers, the design went for a layered skirt with an asymmetrical, flounced hem. The sleeves of the top billowed out before coming to a point on the back of each hand. The neckline was a scoop that went low enough just to hint at cleavage with a cowl banding on it. The back of it had a teardrop opening under the cowl banding, Teela noted. It was understated elegance and the scarf was the finishing touch.

Chelsea emerged from the dressing room and was clearly surprised by the design that had emerged in just the few moments. The only word she could manage to describe the sketch was, "Wow."

Marlena laughed and asked, "I take it you like it?"

"I don't believe the sketch is me…" Chelsea answered.

"Just wait until you see the final product," the shopkeeper put in.

Another brief discussion ensued between Marlena and the shopkeeper on color and fabric that left Chelsea with no room to get a word in edgewise. The women came to a quick agreement and laughed about it.

"This won't take long, Your Majesty. I'll have them ready for you this evening," the shopkeeper promised.

"That would be great – do you think you could bring them to the palace for final fittings? I somehow don't think I'll be able to get away after this morning," Marlena asked.

"Certainly, Queen Marlena. We will be there – what time do you think will work?"

Marlena thought for a moment and then named a time. "That should give you plenty of time before dinner, yes?"

"Plenty, Your Majesty," the shopkeeper agreed.

There was another brief discussion on price before Marlena said, "Agreed, but I still think I'm getting the better deal here..."

"In the long run, I am Your Majesty. Everyone will know that it was from my shop that the cloth came, and that it was my design. I will benefit by becoming the modiste of the moment to the nobility," the shopkeeper answered with a sly grin.

Marlena laughed and answered, "We will see you this evening, then."

"Indeed, Queen Marlena. It is a pleasure doing business with you."

The women shook hands, completing the deal and then, Marlena shepherded Teela and Chelsea on to the next stop she had in mind.


	24. Chapter 15 Part 1 Picnic in the Park?

_"The road to destruction,_

_Is all we need to know,_

_Cause it's a rip off,_

_We're stripped, drawn, and cheated,_

_We're flat stone cold lied to_

_But we're not defeated, Nooo, sir!" -_

_Van Halen, The Dream Is Over_

Adam was waiting in the courtyard when Teela returned his mother and Chelsea. He had a large picnic basket packed at his feet with a folded picnic blanket on top of it; and Cringer was sitting at his side, swishing his tail impatiently.

"I take it you had a successful shopping mission?" Adam asked her with a smile.

"Your mother - " Teela began, and shook her head.

" – is a force to be reckoned with," Chelsea finished with a laugh.

"Thank you, Chelsea," Marlena answered. "Adam, do be back in time for dinner, will you?"

"Yes, Mother," Adam said, knowing it was an order, not a request.

"Well, I am off to make sure your father stays on track today with the ambassador. Try and stay out of trouble," she said, placing a light kiss on his cheek.

Adora and Seahawk returned just as Marlena was heading off and she paused to give them the same instructions, "Be back in time for dinner and do try to stay out of trouble, Adora."

"Yes, Mother," Adora answered with a laugh. Marlena gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving the group in the courtyard.

"Are we ready?" Seahawk asked Adam.

"Yep. Chef Allen went overboard on food, I'm afraid," Adam said with a rueful grin. He picked it up with both hands and reached into the large wind raider he would be piloting for them during the afternoon outing.

He placed the picnic basket in the second seat after giving Cringer a meaningful glance, "No eating out of the picnic basket, Cringe."

Cringer looked up at Adam with a "Who, me?" expression, trying to disclaim that the thought had even crossed his mind.

The rest of the group all stifled laughter as they climbed in. Adam and Teela took the pilot and navigation seats up front, Chelsea ended up with Cringer sprawling in her lap, begging for a good petting, and Adora and Seahawk took the rear seats.

Adam made it a point to be a good tour guide, pointing out various points of interest as they flew to their destination. Even when they landed for their picnic beside a bubbling brook, he still proved to be an excellent host, keeping everyone laughing until their sides hurt with many humorous anecdotes about his and Teela's childhood.

Many of the tales Adam told, Teela had forgotten until would say, "Teela, do you remember…"

Then, she'd end up laughing until their sides hurt and even more when Seahawk or Adora would tell a story about one Madam Razz – Chelsea didn't know her at all, but was amazed at how one simple word reversed, or the wrong word used, could have such disastrous and/or humorous results.

Then, Chelsea got the story of how Adora and Seahawk had first met, much to Seahawk's chagrin.

They were all laughing about another one of Madam Razz's spells gone wrong when Chelsea felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

She looked around at her companions to see that Adam and Adora had also tensed, one hand each, reaching over their shoulders, ready to pull out their swords. Teela was just a second slower and had a hand resting at her hip for her blaster and Seahawk was sitting straight up, looking for danger.

"Wha -" Teela began, but was cut off by laughter that was all too familiar.

"Well, if it isn't Randor's brats," the master of Snake Mountain sneered.

"And, what do you want, Skeletor?" Adam asked.

"Why, you, of course!" Skeletor said, as if it was the clearest thing in the world.

"Well, I'm afraid we're busy, Skeletor," Adora answered. She was tensed and ready to spring into action.

Then it was Beastman who made the first move by trying to grab Adora from behind. Tri-Klops tried to stun Seahawk, who easily dodged to one side.

Chelsea flattened herself to the ground, trying to make herself as invisible as possible. She was thoroughly outclassed in this arena.

Teela sprang into action, firing a wild shot at Skeletor before shouting, "Go, Adam! Get Chelsea out of here!"

Adam ignored her order and went after the mercenary that appeared right behind Teela. "Who's going to watch your back?" he said, rushing past her to capture the mercenary in a tackle that would have done an American football defensive guard proud.

Teela cursed and spun to face Evil-Lyn, who'd appeared in a puff of smoke.

Adora didn't panic when Beastman grabbed her, but tried to land a solid kick on his knee. She scored a direct hit.

Beastman howled; his grip losened for the barest fraction of a second, then he tightened his grip even tighter than before.

"Not nice, pretty princess," he snarled.

"I wasn't raised to be nice, furface!" Adora gasped out, trying to breathe as he squeezed tighter.

Seahawk activated his ring and slugged Beastman right upside the head. It sent the mercenary staggering back, and Adora was let go.

Adora dropped to her knees when Beastman released her, trying to get her breath back.

Seahawk ordered, "Adora, go! Get Chelsea out of here!"

Adora nodded, wheezing for breath. She got up, placed a hand against her ribs and made a dash for Chelsea, who had found herself confronted by another mercenary – Trapjaw this time, who was looking for an easy score.

He found himself surprised when she landed a solid punch first to his left knee as she sprang up and then another to his groin. His eyes crossed and he sank to his knees.

Chelsea got to her feet right as Adora reached her.

"Come on, we need to get you out of here!" Adora gasped at her.

_to be continued!_


	25. Chapter 15 Pt 2 Picnic in the Park

"I know!" Chelsea answered.

Adora pulled her along and Cringer dashed in front of them, looking for shelter himself. When they were a hopefully safe distance away, Adora paused, fighting for breath. She had an arm wrapped around her ribs and was pale in the face.

"How bad are your ribs?" Chelsea asked, out of breath herself.

"Really sore," Adora said between pants. "Remind me to put being squeezed by Beastman on my list of things not to do."

"Let me see what I can do for your ribs," Chelsea offered. "I don't think you can even lift your sword right now."

Adora nodded, still having trouble breathing.

Chelsea knew then that Adora had to really be in pain in order for her to agree so easily. She knew that there was no time to lose and quickly closed her eyes, to feel the healing energy tingling at her fingertips. She concentrated and placed her hands on Adora's sides. The energy spilled out, and surrounded Adora's ribs, showing Chelsea the minute stress fractures that weren't necessarily dangerous, but very painful. Almost as soon as Chelsea saw the fractures, they were healed.

The healing energy dissipated, and Chelsea opened her eyes and stepped back to see Adora take a deep breath without pain. The color returned to Adora's face with each agony-free breath.

"Thanks. Now, I think it's time for me to do some magic of my own," Adora said, and lifted up her sword.

Chelsea stepped a good ways back, not quite knowing what to expect.

"For the honor of Grayskull…" Adora said, holding her sword up high.

Chelsea watched, amazed, as Adora was transformed into She-Ra, one of the guardians of Castle Grayskull.

When the transformation was complete, She-Ra turned to Chelsea and said, "You should be safe here. If not, give a yell, and then run as fast as you can."

"Right. I'm outta my league here, and I know it," Chelsea said with a rueful smile.

She-Ra ran back to the action, and Chelsea looked down at Cringer.

"I think you're up next, Cringer," Chelsea said to the green tiger who was sitting at her feet, swishing his tail worriedly.

* * *

She-Ra entered the fray at the right moment. Skeletor fired off a bolt from his havoc staff at Adam's unprotected side. She deflected it with a quick dive and roll, pulling her sword into position to catch the bolt. It exploded with a hiss in the water of the stream.

"She-Ra!" Teela gasped in surprise.

Skeletor's reaction was similar, except he was less than pleased to see the other guardian of Castle Grayskull. "She-Ra!"

"And, how wonderful to see you too, Skeletor," was her answer as she came to her feet.

Teela took the opportunity to urge, "Adam, go!"

She-Ra agreed silently with Teela:Listen to her, brother. He-Man's help would be appreciated, just in case Skeletor has something else up his sleeve.:

Adam kept his attention on the mercenary he was busy fending off, but told her:I know, but how:

:Fade back, I'll keep Bone Head's attention on me: She-Ra told him.

:Sounds good.:

:Count of three, I go right, you go back: She-Ra told him, keeping an eye on Skeletor.

:Right: Adam answered, with a punch at Trapjaw, who had regained his feet and was looking around for the missing Chelsea.

:Three. Two. One. Go: she ordered her brother.

Adam took a careful, planned stumble backwards as She-Ra moved forward to knock Trapjaw off his feet once more. He carefully moved back, keeping an eye on the mercenaries. They were concentrating now on the rest of the group, which was, again, their mistake. He glanced upwards, looking to see if there were any spybots hovering anywhere that he could see, and thankfully saw none. He turned his back on the melee and ran away. He knew which way to go, for She-Ra had given him a clear image on where she'd left Chelsea.

* * *

Chelsea was staying under the tree cover, trying to stay inconspicuous at first glance.

Cringer was crouching next to her, keeping a fearful eye out on anything that might pose a threat.

"Come on, Cringe, we've got work to do," Adam said by way of greeting.

Cringer gave a forlorn sigh, before moving out of the tree cover and stood near his human.

"For the power of Grayskull…"

After the transformation was complete, Chelsea asked, "What's Skeletor up to this time?"

"Who knows? He's got something up his sleeve if he wants Adora and Adam and brought his whole entourage with him," He-Man briefly briefly answered. "Stay under cover, and yell if you need help."

"I will," Chelsea promised, stepping back under the tree cover.

"Come on, Cat, let's go," He-Man told Battlecat, swinging up in the saddle on his back.

* * *

He-Man, on Battlecat's back, entered the fight -- much to Skeletor's displeasure.

"First She-Ra, now you, He-Man?" the master of Snake Mountain snarled.

He-Man didn't bother to answer as he leapt from Battlecat's back at Trapjaw, who was trying to impale Seahawk from behind on his hook arm.

Trapjaw went down with a solid thud and stayed down this time, dazed.

Skeletor cursed and turned his attention towards him, "Curse you, He-Man!"

He fired off a bolt from his Havoc Staff that the Champion of Grayskull dodged to avoid. Skeletor immediately fired off a bright flash that exploded in front of He-Man, leaving the hero temporarily blinded. Skeletor lunged forward and rammed the head of his staff into He-Man's solar plexus, driving the breath from him in a surprised gasp. Seeing the hero breathless, he rammed the head of his staff again into that vulnerable area, bending He-Man forward at the waist. Then, he discharged the energy bolt he had built up in the head of his staff, temporarily paralyzing the hero's diaphragm, leaving him unable to breathe.

Beastman used the situation to his advantage and rammed his fists into He-Man's kidneys in a quick double punch.

Wheezing and white-faced with pain, He-Man fell to his knees.

Teela found herself now facing Evil-Lynn and Beastman, as the lumbering henchman kept moving after knocking He-Man down to go after her.

Teela knew that the best way to keep Evil-Lynn from using her magic was to be up close and personal with the witch. She could handle Evil-Lynn, by herself, but when adding in Beastman, things got tricky.

She spun in close to Evil-Lynn to execute the moves she knew would work against her. She swung her staff and connected hard with Evil-Lynn's shin. Immediately she followed up with a sharp double punch to her opponent's sternum and nose. Teela heard the cartilage break with a sharp crack as her staff connected.

Evil –Lynn howled in pain and clutched her nose, which had begun bleeding profusely.

Hearing Beastman thundering up behind her, Teela spun and extended her staff out, tripping the clumsy mercenary and sending him sprawling.

Battlecat came running and knocked him flat on his face again as he tore off, hot on the scent of something.

Teela used the opening she'd created to pull out her blaster and fire off a shot at Skeletor, disrupting whatever spell he had been trying to cast on He-Man.

She-Ra knocked Tri-Klops back off his feet with one well-placed punch and rushed to He-Man's side just as Teela reached his side, facing Skeletor with her blaster drawn in one hand and her staff in the other.

Skeletor -- faced with the united front of She-Ra, Teela, and He-Man, who was regaining his feet -- decided to cut his losses.

"Bah! Enough of this! Evil-Lynn!" he called out, tapping the ground with the butt end of his Havoc Staff.

Evil-Lynn, having apparently stopped the bleeding of her nose, brought her staff up in one hand and raised the other. With a bright flash of blinding light, the mercenaries and Skeletor disappeared from sight.

"He-Man, are you all right?" Teela asked concerned, when they could all see again.

"I'm fine," He-Man assured her, even as She-Ra gave him a disbelieving look. "Beastman snuck in under my guard, is all."

Seahawk joined them and remarked, "Well, that was interesting…"

"Interesting?" Teela spluttered.

"I – " Seahawk began, but stopped at the sound of a deep growl that sounded off in the distance.

The defenders of Grayskull looked briefly at each other and said, "Battlecat!"


	26. Chapter 15 Part 3 Picnic In the Park

"Come on, let's go!" Teela urged.

Without waiting for Seahawk and Teela to follow, He-Man and She-Ra charged off in the direction of Battlecat's roar.

The growls and roars increased in volume and frequency as the heroes approached. They arrived at the source to see Battlecat in a fierce fight with Panthor. Skeletor and Evil-Lynn stood back, watching, as Beastman and Trapjaw tried to corner Chelsea, who was wisely trying to flee.

"I'll take Beastman and Trapjaw," He-Man said.

"Watch your back, Brother," She-Ra cautioned.

"You, too," He-Man answered, veering off to go after the mercenaries.

He-Man dodged fire from Tri-Klops as he tackled Beastman, the closer of the two mercenaries chasing Chelsea. He put his shoulders down and caught Beastman in the lower back, knocking him flat on his face. He felt the jolt of the impact all the way down his spine. He hissed, but shoved the pain aside. He had to keep Trapjaw away from Chelsea. He sprinted forward, every step a lesson in pain management.

He-Man took no more than ten long strides before reaching Trapjaw. He tackled Trapjaw and heard a gasp of pain that wasn't from the mercenary. As they toppled towards the forest floor, it registered to him that he was pulling more than Trapjaw's weight with him. He had been a fraction of a second too slow after all.

Trapjaw must have managed to reach Chelsea before him and now, they were all falling to the ground. He-Man twisted and tried to take the brunt of the impact, but the weight was too much at this late juncture – they were too close to the ground. All he succeeded in doing was landing on his already sore lower back.

It took him longer than he wanted to work past the pain and get to his feet. He got up to see Trapjaw had impaled Chelsea on his hook and now yanked it out, with a vicious grin, knowing he was causing more damage with the pressure and angle he applied as he stood up.

Chelsea gasped in pain once more and clapped a hand to her shoulder, trying to stem the flow of blood. Her face was bone white with pain and shock, and her eyes were squeezed shut in concentration.

He-Man swung his fist hard, hitting Trapjaw in the stomach and doubling him over. He pulled back and threw another punch; this one knocked the mercenary clean off his feet.

She-Ra, in her duel with Skeletor and Evil-Lynn, had managed to knock Evil-Lynn off her feet and was clashing swords with Skeletor.

Teela quickly moved up and took She-Ra's place in fighting with Evil-Lyn, allowing She-Ra to keep her attention on Skeletor.

She-Ra locked blades with Skeletor and moved in closer. Skeletor managed to free his blade and was forced to take several steps back as She-Ra closed in on him with a seamlessly executed series of moves.

"What are you after, Skeletor?" She-Ra questioned, driving the master of Snake Mountain back.

"Why should I tell you?" Skeletor sneered.

"Because you're losing this fight," She-Ra countered, giving way a little in their clanging duel. She spun and executed another series of moves that had Skeletor backpedaling faster than he liked.

Skeletor fought back hard and She-Ra gave the ground up to his advance.

"We can keep going like this all day, Skeletor, if you want," She-Ra taunted him.

The Lord of Snake Mountain snarled and went on the offensive. He attacked with a flurry of moves that challenged her to keep up her defenses.

Then, it happened: their swords locked again. Skeletor had the advantage of height, weight, and madness on his side. He pushed back and worked to unlock the swords with an enraged shove.

The shove pushed the locked swords back and the edge of Skeletor's sword caught She-Ra high on her upper right chest, cutting a painful slash on her creamy skin.

She hissed more in surprise than in pain from the laceration and could feel blood trickling down from the wound. The slash hurt just enough to hinder full range of movement, but she could deal with it. The healer in her was more frustrated by the pain she could feel from her brother and from Chelsea. She wanted to end this duel quickly, in order to heal their injuries, which were definitely very serious.

With a growl, she gave her full attention back to the fight at hand, taking the pain she felt from them and using that to fuel her determination to shut this fight down now.

With some trepidation, she heard the sound of windraiders approaching and wondered, briefly, if they were friend or for. If foe, then they were going to need some help fast. She didn't have long to wonder, as Teela's comm went off.

* * *

"Teela, this is Man At Arms. What's your position?" Duncan called his daughter.

Teela managed to answer, "I'm – a – little busy – right now." She then ducked to avoid a magic blast that Evil-Lyn aimed at her head.

"Understood. Leave your comm open, so we can get a lock on your position."

Teela didn't have the breath to answer; she was forced to duck and roll when Evil-Lyn popped off another magic blast at her. She growled, her temper beginning to fray, and snapped out with her cobra staff towards Evil-Lyn's ankles. She connected with a solid crack and yanked her staff back towards her.

Evil-Lyn went down with a thud. Teela smiled grimly, glad to have knocked Evil-Lyn off her feet. Teela regained her own feet a moment before Evil-Lyn and was already in a spin, her staff in her hands. Evil-Lyn barely got her staff up in time to block Teela's attack with her own staff.

* * *

It became more than apparent to Skeletor that he was outnumbered when the approaching windraiders opened fire on him and his mercenaries.

She-Ra smiled at Skeletor. "Do you still feel like fighting today, Skeletor?"

The evil sorcerer snarled and reached out to lay a burning hand on She-Ra's injured shoulder, pushing her away while at the same time injuring her further.

She-Ra stepped back, hissing at the fresh pain from the burn on top of the laceration.

Skeletor raised his Havoc Staff, then tapped the end of it against the ground before She-Ra could step back in and engage him in their duel once more.

"Another time, She-Ra," he said, then disappeared with a blinding flash of light.

Evil-Lyn gasped and shouted, "Skeletor!" before she too, disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

This left the rest of the mercenaries scrambling, as they realized they had been abandoned by their boss. They quickly abandoned the field, convinced even more to flee by the rapid fire from the masters' windraiders.

Tri-Klops called in his spybots to lay a covering fire for his retreat. Trapjaw and Beastman each ran a zigzag pattern in opposite directions to avoid getting hit by the targeted fire.

Teela leaned against her staff, watching them go with a critical eye as she caught her breath. She knew they would return to fight again in the near future.

In mirroring movements, both He-Man and She-Ra sheathed their swords. The fight, while short, had taken its toll on the group. Now that the adrenaline was fading, He-Man could feel the throbbing in his lower back that went all the way down his legs. She-Ra had the brilliant red burn mark on her shoulder.

Chelsea crouched on the forest floor, panting and chalk white, one hand covered in blood.

She-Ra quickly moved to Chelsea's side, knowing that a medic wouldn't be able to heal all the internal damage as well as she could or in as short a time. And time, she thought, was the key factor here. She dropped to her knees and placed a hand on Chelsea's good shoulder.

"Chelsea, you'll have to work with me. Do you understand?"

Chelsea nodded and breathlessly answered, "Yes."

"Now, relax, so we can do this."

The look Chelsea gave her spoke volumes, and She-Ra knew then that Chelsea would be just fine.

"Listen to my voice, Chelsea. Close your eyes and breathe deep. Let me in."

Chelsea tried to concentrate on She-Ra's words, but the pain and blood loss dragged at her. Then, she felt tingling warmth slowly spreading up her arm from her fingertips to her shoulder.

:That's it, Chelsea: she heard She-Ra's unspoken encouragement. :We can heal this. I'll show you how.:

Images poured into her of the damaged tissue and blood vessels as it looked right then and how it would look from the inside out when healed. With the pain and mind-numbing cold of shock blocked, Chelsea could visualize the damaged tissue knitting back together. Then there was an intense, deep tingling feeling spreading out from the wound that was almost painful.

:That's just the speed healing. It'll pass in just a moment.: She-Ra assured her.

The only thing that remained was to heal the last visible damage of the attack – the torn skin. That was the easiest part – encouraging the skin to grow back at the accelerated pace and without a mark.

"Let your wounds be healed," She-Ra said triumphantly, bringing the healing to a close just mere moments after they had started.

The last surge of healing power dissipated with a faint shimmer and leaving no trace of the injuries that Chelsea and She-Ra had received in its wake. Chelsea sat there, feeling like she had just finished running a marathon. Every muscle trembled with fatigue. She had never performed such a healing before and knew why her mentor had warned against over-extending herself. She didn't think she'd be moving fast anytime soon.

She-Ra regained her feet gracefully, then helped Chelsea find her balance as she slowly stood up.

Teela was the one to question, "What happened to Adam and Adora?"

Having had a few minutes beforehand to think of an answer; Chelsea said, "They doubled back around to the wind raider. I stayed back, never figuring that bone head would come after me once I was out of sight, with He-Man and She-Ra there to keep his attention on them."

Seahawk rubbed his chin, "Sound enough theory."

"Theory, yes," Chelsea sighed. "Too bad it didn't work in reality."

Man-At-Arms approached and after taking in the scene asked, "Everyone all right?"

"We are now, thanks to your timely arrival, Man-At-Arms," He-Man answered.

She-Ra gave her brother a look that sharply disagreed with him, but kept quiet.

"What did Skeletor want this time?"

"The usual – mayhem, kidnapping, ransom, revenge…" He-Man shrugged, hiding a grimace of pain.

"Yes, well, perhaps we'd better head back to the palace before anything else happens," Teela put in, sensing the undercurrents in the conversation, but not understanding what they meant.

"Are you coming, He-Man, She-Ra?" Duncan questioned the heroes.

"Ah no, not at this time, Man-At-Arms," She-Ra put in. "We've got some other matters to take care of first."

"Very well then," Duncan said with a slow nod, seeming to understand what was not being said.

"Come on, 'Cat, let's go," He-Man turned to the great tiger who stood next to him, relaxed, but still alert to any trouble.

He-Man and She-Ra quickly bid farewell and disappeared into the forest.

"I sure hope he'll be all right," Duncan muttered under his breath as he watched them go.

"What was that, Father?" Teela questioned.

"Nothing important, Teela," was the quick answer. "Come on, let's round everybody up and head for home."

_to be continued..._


	27. Chapter 15 Pt 4 Picnic In the Park

She-Ra: Lost In a Lost World

Chapter 15, Part 4

by LadyNiko

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Chelsea. No sooner did they land back at the palace than Marlena was hurrying to greet them.

"What happened? You're back early, Adam," she questioned her son.

"Skeletor decided to crash the picnic, Mother," Adora answered, accepting Seahawk's hand to step out of the windraider.

"Is everyone all right?" Marlena asked.

"Now we are, thanks to some timely assistance from Man-At-Arms and the guard unit," Adam answered. He turned and picked up the picnic basket from the middle seat as Cringer leaped out behind it.

Marlena caught sight of Chelsea's damaged shirt and exclaimed, "Chelsea, are you all right?"

"Now I am, Queen Marlena," Chelsea answered, with a shake of her head. She wondered how many times she was going to have to repeat the story.

"Well, you obviously will want to get cleaned up before Mistress Deirdre arrives," Marlena said with a raised eyebrow.

"Who?" Chelsea asked, wrinkling her brow in confusion. Then, a moment later, her face cleared as she placed the name, "Oh yes, now I remember… And yes, cleaning up is definitely a priority, Your Majesty."

Marlena shepherded the group off to their residence wing of the palace, with strict orders for Teela to not be late for the fitting, before sending her off to her quarters to get cleaned up.

After getting a shower along with some tea and a small bite to eat, Chelsea felt human enough to willingly submit to the fitting. Mistress Deirdre had clucked over the state of her blouse and had, conveniently, brought enough material to quickly remedy that situation, while Chelsea sat wrapped in a robe, sipping tea in the sitting room of her suite.

Teela, on the other hand, was not as accepting. She fidgeted and wouldn't stand still, trying the modiste's patience until she looked to Marlena for help.

"Teela, if you would just stand still for a few minutes, it will be over all the sooner," Marlena chided Teela with a raised eyebrow.

Teela heaved a long-suffering sigh, blushed, and said, "Yes, Queen Marlena."

True to her word, the modiste finished making the last adjustments within a short time, and while her assistant finished with Chelsea's outfit, she did the last sewing on Teela's.

By the time the modiste and her assistant left, the new outfits were finished; and then Marlena was again shepherding them to get ready for dinner with the ambassador.

Invariably, the dinner conversation turned to Skeletor's attack that afternoon during the picnic.

"I can't believe that Skeletor would make such an open attack," the ambassador commented, clearly surprised by how calm everyone seemed about it. "Someone should do something about it."

"Yes, someone should," Marlena agreed demurely, giving her children an oblique look over the coffee cup wrapped in her hands.

Adora held up a hand and defended herself, "I already have my hands full with Skeletor's 'teacher,' Hordak, and Shadoweaver on Etheria."

At the same time, Adam said in a mental aside::Gee, thanks for the help, Sis.:

:Anytime, brother mine, anytime: she answered with a silent laugh.

"Sooner or later, one of his spells will backfire and he'll be caught in the backlash," Adam commented. "Or else He-Man and the Sorceress will find a way to defeat him once and for all."

"Hrmm," was all Marlena said, taking another sip of her coffee.

"Well, I'm all for sooner rather than later," Randor harrumphed, drinking his coffee.

"Here, here," Man-At-Arms echoed the sentiment.

Finally, dinner wound to a close. Everyone adjourned for a walk in the gardens before the king and queen, along with Ambassador Anteries and Adam, headed to the king's study for a late night discussion.

Teela excused herself and quickly escaped to her quarters, presumably to work on some overdue reports. Duncan had a project in his lab that he needed to get back to, so he was the next to peel off, leaving Chelsea with Adora and Seahawk.

Chelsea didn't have to feign the yawn she tried to hide behind her hand. "Oh, excuse me. I guess it's my turn to turn in now."

"Don't feel like you have to leave…" Adora protested.

"No, no, I'm still tired from today. I know now why my mentor always cautioned me about doing a major Healing without help. It takes a lot out of you."

"Will you be all right?" Seahawk questioned.

"Oh, I'll be fine after I get some sleep," Chelsea said with a wave of her hand, before another yawn overtook her. "Good night, Princess, Captain."

She nodded to them and turned on the path that would lead to her guest suite.

Back in her suite, Chelsea got ready for bed and was asleep moments after climbing in.

After Chelsea had left them, Seahawk turned to Adora and said, "Well, we seem to be alone again."

Adora smiled and let herself be pulled into his arms. "Why, it would seem so."

"What do you suggest we do now that we are alone, Princess?" Seahawk teased, pulling her in tight.

"Enjoy every last moment of it?" Adora answered, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"That sounds like an excellent idea…" Seahawk said, before bending his head down to capture her lips in a kiss.

_**to be continued...**_


	28. Chapter 16 Homeward Bound

**Lost in a Lost World  
Chapter 16  
Homeward Bound**

_  
"Tells us what you've seen in faraway forgotten lands.  
Where empires have turned back to sand"  
– The Moody Blues, Lovely To See You_

The following day found Chelsea at Castle Grayskull. Adam and Adora accompanied her there to take her leave before she headed back to Earth.

"Take care, Chelsea," Adam said, shaking hands with her. "Try to stay out of trouble."

Chelsea laughed, "Gee, thanks, Adam."

She turned to Adora and said, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Adora. I wish you the best of luck in kicking Hordak's tail off Etheria and back to the Horde home world."

"Thank you, Chelsea, for everything," Adora said, shaking hands, then embracing her warmly.

"You're welcome. It wasn't like I could ignore that dream." Chelsea shivered.

"Are you ready to go, Chelsea?" the Sorceress asked.

"Oh yes. Much as I would love to stay, I've got a house to clean up and get ready for my friends' invasion."

The Sorceress smiled, "The portal is ready whenever you are."

"I'm ready," Chelsea answered. Yes, she thought, she was ready. She had her own life – family, friends, and studies – awaiting her, no matter how much any one or all three might be doing their damnedest to drive her crazy at any given time.

The portal burst to life – a glowing oval shape filled with streaks of golden light. Chelsea stared at it, amazed, for a moment.

"Way cool," she breathed.

"If you ever need help, Chelsea…" the Sorceress began.

"I'll know who to turn to," Chelsea replied with a smile. "I think I've got it covered, Sorceress. I've got excellent teachers between my grandmother and my mentor."

She waved goodbye to everyone and stepped into the portal to go back home.

* * *

The Sorceress watched Chelsea go, knowing that the young woman from Earth was in good hands.

Adam and Adora bid their goodbyes, since Teela was awaiting Adam for a sparring match.

Adora teased her brother as they walked out of the Castle, "I think, Adam, that she wants to make sure you don't go running off-world without her again…"

The Sorceress silently laughed, as the conversation drifted back to her. All was quiet for the moment, and perhaps she would go watch this sparring match between her daughter and Adam.

At the royal training ground, Adora and Seahawk sat on the sidelines with Man-At-Arms standing over them, to watch the sparring match.

* * *

Adora couldn't resist teasing Adam as he got stung by Teela's training blade. "Remember, brother dear, keep your guard up."

Duncan glanced at Adora briefly, then concurred, "She's right, Adam. You dropped your guard just enough that Teela was able to make a hit."

Adam glanced sideways at Adora and commented, "Gee, thanks, Sis."

"Only doing my job," Adora laughed.

"As what?" Seahawk questioned.

"Annoying sister," Adam commented, before taking a deep breath and turning to face Teela again.

Another volley and neither Adam nor Teela were able to score until Adam made a misstep that allowed Teela to complete another stinging hit.

Duncan made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded like annoyance to Adora before he spoke up.

"That's enough. Adam," he called out. "Adora, take your brother's place."

"Huh?" Adam looked surprised at his teacher

"Me?" Adora questioned.

"Adora?" Seahawk asked, looking up at him.

"Yes. I want Adam to see where he's dropping his guard. Teela, I want you to practice against someone who's got a different style, one whose weaknesses you don't know right away."

"And, what about me, Man-At-Arms?" Adora asked, getting up.

"You also need to remember to keep your guard up, but in a different way, Princess," he commented obliquely.

"Uh-oh," Seahawk commented with a grin, "I think you're in trouble, Adora."

"I think you're right," Adora answered under her breath. She was sure that this was from the debriefing after the previous day's skirmish with Skeletor.

He was. Duncan grilled them hard, calling out maneuvers.

Teela attacked hard and fast, with her father ordering moves for her and then critiques for Adora.

"Adora, keep your guard up. You're dropping your shield."

Teela saw a tightening around Adora's eyes as she corrected her position, but did not verbally answer except for a short sigh.

She had to admit that Adam's sister was a very tough opponent. She couldn't reach that almost-meditative state which allowed her to read her opponent's body language and anticipate their moves. Adora was very good at not telegraphing her moves, and her returns to Teela's attacks were hard and fast.

"Good, good. That's better," Man-At-Arms called out and Teela was unsure if he meant her or Adora, but there was no time to debate it as he ordered another series of attacks.

At the end of that volley, he called a halt to their sparring.

"All right, that's good enough for now. Cool down and make sure you get some fluids," he commented.

Adora, very grateful for the reprieve; handed the practice sword and shield back to her brother as she quit the field. She had a feeling he was going to need them again soon.

Duncan turned his attention to the sidelines, "Adam, do you see where Teela and Adora are keeping their guards up?"

"Yes, I think so," Adam answered.

"Now, I want you to copy that," Duncan said with a curt nod before turning back to Teela and asked, "Are you ready for another round?"

"Yes," Teela answered after finishing her large cup of water.

"Good, then take your places and begin again," he ordered.

Adam did remember to keep his guard up after Teela scored a solid hit on his right hip.

"Adam, you're telegraphing your moves!" Duncan called out. "Your body language is giving you away. Pay attention to what you're doing!"

"Sorry, Man-At-Arms," Adam replied before fending off a new attack by Teela.

It was a fierce match between the two. Sitting on the sidelines once more, Adora could see Teela making few errors as she used her size to her advantage. She was quicker on her feet than Adam by just a fraction and that kept her out of range for most of his returns.

Adora could see that Adam was more flat footed instead of up on the balls of his feet, ready to move. She had her suspicions about that, but kept it to herself.

So, it went back and forth for several more minutes. Adam would press Teela back, but make some minor error that would allow her to regain the ground she'd lost. He would make her work for it, but he would give the ground back to her. Then, it happened: Adam overextended himself just enough for Teela to deliver a resounding slap with her practice sword to his sword hand, knocking the blade from his hand.

"Ouch," Seahawk commented. "That's going to leave a bruise."

Duncan made a noise before agreeing, "I think you're right. All right, Teela, Adam, that's enough for today."

Teela looked back at her father, clearly expecting him to say something else, but he didn't.

Adam shook his stinging sword hand and said, "Good match, Teela. I guess you're still better than me."

Adora and Duncan exchanged a sideways glance. They knew better. If Adam had truly wanted to win the match, he could have done so.

Teela narrowed her eyes at Adam, clearly wanting to say something. She opened her mouth, but quickly shut it again as she thought twice about what she was going to say. She didn't seem to want to jeopardize their undeclared truce. A moment later she said, "I don't know, Adam. You did pretty good yourself."

"I'll take that as a compliment, then," Adam said with a grin.

Adora shook her head; her brother was playing it smooth all right.

"Well, if you'd just pay more attention to what you're doing, Adam –" Teela said with snap to her tone than she'd clearly meant. Her face turned pink right after the words left her mouth.

"I know, I know," Adam said, not taking offense at the snap in Teela's voice.

Before anyone could say anything else, an alarm beeped on Man-At-Arm's wrist. He checked his chronometer and said, "Adam, Adora, you're due in court in thirty minutes."

"Uh oh…" Adam said. "Come on, Sis. We'd better go get ready."

Adora sighed; she had forgotten the promise made to her mother that day. "I'm coming."

"The things we do for family?" Seahawk asked with a grin, helping her to her feet.

"Oh yes," Adora answered.

"I'll have to tell you about the hoops I had to jump through for my father…" Seahawk commented, wrapping an arm around her waist as they followed Adam back towards the palace.

"Oh?" Adora raised one delicately sculpted eyebrow at him.

"When we have more time, I'll tell you. For now, you have a promise to keep…"

The afternoon court was filled with weightier issues, scheduled purposely for that day by the King's secretary Adam's research of the day before was put into use during this court session; and while it was lengthy and drawn out, Adora found it interesting to see the two cases presented.

"It's a battle, all right," Seahawk commented quietly from their vantage point just off the dais and to the right of the dual thrones.

"It's a battle of words, Captain Seahawk," the ambassador answered.

"This is what I'm – we're – fighting for on Etheria. The right to a fair trial for issues like this," Adora put in. "But, I do have to admit, I'd almost rather be fighting Hordak than to sit here day after day doing this. My training didn't exactly cover politics and courtly situations."

"Now, Adora, could you ever see Hordak arguing something so mundane?" Seahawk teased.

Adora chuckled, "Oh no, not at all. He would have resorted to blasting something by now, and Shadoweaver would have attempted to cast some spell or another."

"You surely know some interesting people, Princess," the ambassador commented with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yes," was the answer. Adora still marveled at Adam persisting and being vital in helping her break the spells and training that had kept her from questioning Hordak's actions too deeply.

After all the arguments, pleas and petitions for the day had been heard, Marlena cornered Seahawk. "Captain Seahawk, would you care to join me for a cup of tea?"

* * *

"Uhm, yes, Your Majesty," Seahawk was surprised to be approached directly Adora's mother.

"Good, then come with me, Captain," Marlena said, wrapping an arm around his and steering him away from the crowd that was slowly dispersing.

"Uh oh…" he heard Adam comment not so quietly as he was led away.

Marlena paused, looked back over her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I'll return him in one piece."

Moments later, they were in the Queen's Solar, where a servant was just delivering a fresh pot of tea.

"Prefect, thank you, Delia," the Queen said with a warm smile.

"Will there be anything else, Your Majesty?" the older woman asked.

"No, no, we'll be fine, Delia," Marlena assured her.

The maid curtseyed and left the solar, leaving them alone.

"Please, Captain Seahawk, have a seat. I promise, I don't bite," Marlena assured him.

"I'm not so sure about that, Your Majesty. I have a feeling you have plenty of bite at times," Seahawk said, taking a cautious seat.

Marlena laughed. "I will plead the fifth."

"Your Majesty?"

"Sorry, a leftover saying from my former home," Marlena said, pouring herself a cup of tea and sweetening it with honey and sugar. She poured one for Seahawk and after sweetening it for him, handed it over.

"Now, I know you're wondering why I pulled you in here…"

"Very much so," Seahawk answered.

"I promised this isn't the interrogation you'd face from my husband," Marlena assured him.

"The king did seem a bit – protective – where Adora's concerned," Seahawk offered diplomatically.

"Oh yes – protective is a very good word," Marlena grinned. "I think he was still holding out hope for Adora to marry someone from the Eternian nobility – until he saw the two of you together, that is."

Seahawk didn't know what to say to that.

"You make a wonderful couple," Marlena went on to say. "I knew you cared deeply for Adora when you went to Earth – a place you knew next to nothing about – in order to find her and try to fix whatever Hordak and Shadoweaver had done to her now."

"Thank you, Queen Marlena," Seahawk answered, still not sure what the queen wanted of him.

"Please, just Marlena in here. Out there," Marlena waved a hand, "I have more than enough people bowing and scraping while at the same time, still hoping to get some juicy tidbit of gossip to spread."

"I did notice some of that already, Your – Marlena," Seahawk answered, thinking back to the previous night.

"Since I know my daughter will probably be pacing her suite worrying about how badly I'm interrogating you, I'll get to the point. I want to know just how committed you are to the fight against the Horde?"

"Totally," Seahawk declared without hesitation. "I'll admit, it took a lot for me learn that you can't be neutral in this fight."

"Oh?" Marlena raised an eyebrow as she sipped her tea.

"I made a rash – no, not just rash – but stupid mistake in going after what I just assumed was a Horde tax galleon. That mistake cost me having my ship blown out from under me and almost losing Adora and my crew as Horde prisoners."

"I'm glad to hear that, Seahawk, very glad to hear that," Marlena said with a smile. "I'm sorry that it took losing your ship, but I'm very glad to hear that you are totally committed to the fight against the Horde."

Seahawk silently sighed in relief. He had passed another of those dreaded, surprise exams from the future in-laws. He, who had never expected to be serious about any woman, had been shell shocked to discover the connection between Adora and himself, and then even more to find himself signing on for the fight against the Horde. He still wasn't sure how it happened.

Marlena grinned. "I did promise that this would be easier than if it were my husband doing the questioning."

"That you did," Seahawk found himself grinning in return.

"Now, finish your tea and let's go find my daughter so we can show her that I have left you in one piece," Marlena ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," Seahawk answered, raising his teacup in response. Now that the weight of the pop quiz was off him, he found he could actually taste the beverage that had been handed to him and see the room he was in.

The Queen's Solar may have had a feminine sense and scent to it, but the color scheme was hardly delicate. It was a mixture of bold colors that seemed to reflect the mother of the woman he loved.

Once he finished his tea, Marlena lived up to her word and escorted him back through the palace corridors, the long way, Seahawk suspected, to show that she had chosen and fully supported him as her daughter's fiancée.


	29. Chapter 17 Pt 1 Return to the Beginning

Lost in a Lost World

Chapter 17

Return to the Beginning

At dinner that night, Adora decided it was time to return to Etheria the following day. She had been gone almost a week -- a week without either her or She-Ra to stop whatever wild "break the rebellion" schemes Hordak had dreamed up.

Her mother offered no resistance. She turned to Adam with a raised eyebrow. "I take it you and Cringer will be going with your sister tomorrow?"

"I had planned on it, yes. I figure I can help the rebels coordinate their defenses, if and when Hordak launches another attack at them," Adam said quickly.

Randor was the one who was harder to convince. "You've barely been home, Adora."

"I know, but Hordak won't wait. He's probably going to make some bold move to try and take Castle Brightmoon back, now that he thinks I'm out of the picture. Brightmoon is the center of the rebellion. and if he manages to retake Brightmoon, it'll be hard to recover from that crippling blow."

Randor sighed, resignedly. "I just wish we could have more time to visit, Adora. It seems you were barely here before you're heading back to Etheria."

"I know, Father, I know," Adora said wistfully.

'If only,' was a powerful phrase, but didn't do much for changing things now. But, she had to admit, in some ways, she understood now how things had played out the way they were meant to. If she hadn't been taken by Hordak as a newborn and grown up under Horde control, then she seriously doubted that she would have met Seahawk.

Randor turned his attention to Seahawk, "And you, Captain Seahawk – do you think that Hordak will attack Brightmoon?"

Seahawk nodded in confirmation, "If Adora thinks that Hordak will be going after Brightmoon, then I'd consider it a fact, Your Majesty."

That seemed to satisfy her father. Adora looked at him curiously for a moment before turning her attention back to the exquisite meal before her. She ate her dinner, but opened the link with Adam. :What was that all about:

:Simple – another test: he said, after a moment's pause as he answered something that Man-At-Arms had said.

Adora couldn't decide between annoyance or embarrassment. Families were a complicated business! She felt, more than heard, his quiet chuckle.

:Gee, thanks, Adam..:

:Anytime, Sis, anytime:

* * *

Early the next morning, Adam, Adora, and Seahawk gathered with the king and queen to bid them farewell before heading to Castle Grayskull -- and, ultimately, the kingdom of Brightmoon on Etheria. 

Marlena looked to Adam and said, "Watch your back; and don't forget that Hordak is just as tricky as Skeletor."

"Certainly, Mother," Adam answered, giving her a brief hug. He reached down and gave Cringer a brief scratch behind the ears. "Come on, Cringe, let's go."

With a long-suffering sigh, Cringer followed Adam to the waiting windraider, leaving Adora alone with their parents.

"I wish you didn't have to leave again so soon, Adora," Randor said wistfully, wrapping her in a tight hug.

"Me too, Father, me too. But soon, I hope, I'll be able to stay longer," Adora answered, her arms just as tight around him.

Marlena said, "Give him hell for us, Adora. Show him what a mistake he made in coming after this family."

That helped to clear some of the sorrow of her farewell.

"Oh, I will, Mother, I will," Adora promised, enjoying the fierce hug her mother gave her.

"Hang on to your pirate, my dear. He's too good to let go."

Adora laughed and pressed a kiss to her mother's cheek. "Thanks, I happen to think so too."

She headed out the door and climbed into the waiting wind raider next to Seahawk as Adam started the engine.


	30. Chapter 17 Pt 2 Land of Confusion

When they arrived from the portal back on Etheria, it was as Adora feared: Hordak was launching a full scale attack against Brightmoon, and his timing couldn't have been better -- or worse, depending on whose side you were on.

The trio crested a hill and could see the battle spread out before them.

Adam commented, "You were right, sis. Hordak's really trying to take back Brightmoon."

"Yes, he is, and I wish I hadn't been," Adora said grimly. She did a quick mental calculation. Things were beginning to click, and she didn't like the picture it presented.

She looked to Seahawk and asked, "Tonight there's a lunar eclipse, right?"

"Yes" Seahawk answered after a pause. "Ganymede is scheduled for an eclipse tonight."

"Blast. Hordak actually had this planned all out. Take out me and/or She-Ra and then go for Brightmoon when it's weak." Adora frowned. "I wouldn't have given him credit for being that smart."

Adam pulled out a pair of binoculars from a pouch at his waist. He reviewed the battle taking place in the valley before handing them to Adora.

"It looks like the rebels were expecting this. They've got some defenses in place."

Adora looked at what Adam pointed out to her. "I guess Glimmer took my suggestions to heart. Good!"

"Why don't we go let Hordak know we're back?" Seahawk suggested with a fierce smile.

"Sounds good to me," Adam said, having an idea what was on Adora's mind.

"Oh yes, I need to have a few words with Catra," Adora answered, searching for the flowing black hair and scarlet red short cape of the woman who had succeeded her as Force Captain.

It took Adora a few moments to spot the villainess, as she was directing a set of robot troopers to attack a group of rebels who had encroached on her side of the line.

"I'll see about organizing hit-and-run attacks against the right flank," Adam said.

"And, I'll take the left flank," Seahawk said, looking for his own men on the battlefield. "I have a feeling that Swen and my crew are probably down there somewhere. They'll be wanting payback for what happened at Castle Blackmoore."

"Watch your back, Sis," Adam said, moving off.

"You too, Adam," Adora said and turned to Seahawk. "Take care, 'Hawk. I expect you to come out of this in one piece."

"The same applies to you, Adora," Seahawk said, wrapping his arms about her for a moment in order to share a brief kiss.

Then, they parted ways in order to accomplish their plan.

* * *

Adora quickly made her way to the battle, her goal: to get to Catra first. She had been trained from her childhood by Hordak – she knew how to not be seen by the basic troopers. Using the lengthening shadows to her advantage, she was able to get to Catra's position unhindered.

"Catra!" she called out, drawing the Sword of Protection from its sheath on her back. The jewel caught the fading sunlight and flared as Adora drew the sword up and over her shoulder.

Catra whirled in surprise, and snarled in shock and anger at seeing her. "You!"

"Yes, Catra, I'm back. As you can see, Shadoweaver's spell didn't quite take," Adora said, resting her sword's tip against the ground.

Catra snarled again and reached up to pull her cat mask down, so that she could transform into her gray leopard form.

Adora leaped forward, sword in hand, and raised the flat of the blade to smack one of Catra's hands away from the mask. "Not so fast, Catra!"

Catra backed up, startled.

"No shape changing allowed here, Catra."

"You always did like to do things the hard way, Adora," Catra complained, dropping her other hand away from her mask and shaking the one that Adora had smacked.

Adora ignored the taunt and just held up her sword, "This is between you and me, Catra. No Leech to drain away my strength while you make your escape. Just you and me, right now!"

Catra curled her lip up in a snarl. Adora's comment about Leech struck deep. "I don't need that bumbling fool to take care of you, Adora!"

Anger led to rash mistakes; and that's what Adora planned to use to her advantage, as she met Catra's almost frenzied rush.

She calmly met Catra's sword, stepping into the blow with her sword. Adora turned in order to elbow Catra in the stomach. Breaking the deadlock of swords, Adora was able to step back and wait for Catra's next move.

Catra's snarl, as she shot Adora a killer death glare, was somewhat breathless. Her temper got the better of her, and she charged Adora.

Adora sidestepped the rush and used the flat of her sword to deliver a stinging slap to the back of Catra's right leg.

Catra yelped and spun around to glare at Adora.

"Temper, temper, Catra," Adora cautioned with a grin.

Catra took a deep breath and collected herself. Her next attack was much more controlled. Adora found herself having to pay attention to what moves Catra was making. Catra's forte may not have been sword fighting, but you didn't earn your rank as a Force Captain just on thug status alone. If that were the case, then Scorpia would have been promoted to Force Captain long ago. Catra had the ability to process information faster than most of the other mercenaries; and she also, Adora knew from experience, fought dirtier.

They clashed swords once again, then Adora spun away from Catra's attack. Better to let Catra think she was weak, than to let her know how strong she actually was.

Catra closed in, and Adora dodged the attack, elbowing her in the face.

Catra reared back with a painful howl, before moving in once more, furious.

Her sword was forgotten as she charged Adora, her hand shaped claw-like and reaching for Adora's face.

Adora pulled her head back and swung an arm up to block the blow. She slashed out with her right foot, catching Catra's ankle.

Catra hissed as the pain registered and hopped back, favoring the ankle for the moment. Then, adrenaline and rage overcame the pain and she threw her sword to the side, rushing to attack Adora again.

Adora quickly threw the Sword of Protection across the clearing like a dart so the tip struck securely in the dirt -- close at hand, but out of the way until she needed it.

Catra caught Adora around the waist and knocked her down with a bone-jarring impact.

Adora twisted and worked to be on her back while trying to keep Catra from clawing her face with sharp, talon-like nails. She was in a more vulnerable defensive position on her back, and she knew it, but all she needed to do was to get one leg up in order to flip Catra off.

Catra was more focused on trying to claw Adora's face than paying attention to what Adora was doing.

When she couldn't reach her opponent's face with nails, she tried to use her fists, without much success. One blow managed to hit Adora on the chin, leaving her seeing stars for a moment.

"Oh, that's going to be a bruise," Adora grimaced, flexing her jaw and finally managing to get her leg brought up and put into position. She thrust hard. Catra flipped overhead, to land with a satisfying thud on the ground, about five feet from Adora's head.

Adora quickly scrambled to her feet, while Catra was much slower to stand. The Hordewoman still appeared to be winded as she looked at Adora with pure venom in her gaze.

"I told you before, Catra – temper, temper," Adora chided, gently massaging the spot where one of Catra's wild punches had landed.

Catra snarled at the reminder and visibly reined in her temper again. She approached Adora with more caution this time. The temptation to change into her cat form was strong, and Adora could see it on her face.

"And no shape shifting, either! We'll settle this without magical aids, Catra," Adora stated, settling down into a fighting stance.

"Rawr! Why do you insist on making everything more difficult than it has to be, Adora?" Catra hissed, also dropping into a fighting crouch and warily approaching Adora.

"Because, unlike you, I can't change my form, so that leaves me at a disadvantage," Adora stated, waiting for Catra's next move. It just wasn't the whole truth.

Catra moved in and threw a rabbit punch with one hand towards Adora's shoulder. With the other, she tried to punch Adora in the eye.

Adora turned. The first blow just glanced off her shoulder; by turning, she was able to throw up an arm to prevent the second punch from finding its mark. Her return was quick and true. Adora's first punch, with the heel of her hand, hit Catra square on her sternum, knocking the breath from her. With her other hand open, Adora slapped Catra on her right cheek.

Catra's next attack was somewhat lacking in force as she swung with one fist towards Adora's stomach and the other towards Adora's throat. Adora easily knocked aside the punch intended for her stomach by grabbing Catra's wrist and twisting Catra's arm behind her back so her other arm flailed for balance. Turning Catra's momentum against her, Adora shoved her forward.

Catra, off balance, stumbled and fell face first onto the ground before she could stop herself.

"Had enough, Catra?" Adora couldn't resist taunting. She rocked slightly on the balls of her feet, keeping a wary eye out for Leech just in case he was hiding in the woods somewhere close by.

A hiss from Catra was Adora's answer as the Horde mercenary slowly got back to her feet.

"As entertaining as this is, Catra, I do still need to say 'hello' to Hordak and Shadoweaver too," Adora sighed. She checked the sky above her, barely visible through the thick tree cover. The full eclipse was approaching very soon. She had maybe an hour left before the castle defenses would be at their weakest. If she was going to stop Hordak and Shadoweaver, it was time to put an end to this fight with Catra.

* * *

Adam passed the word to each cluster of the rebels he helped organize: "Adora's back, and she's leading the charge to drive Hordak away from the castle."

That gave them the extra determination to begin pushing the Horde troops into a retreat. The rebel forces gained ground, forcing the enemy step-by-step backward towards Castle Brightmoon and its defenses.

After seeing one cluster of rebels revived and pressing forward, he moved on to the next pocket of rebels.

"It's time to push the Horde back towards Brightmoon! We're going to let them know what it feels like to have their backs up against the wall!"

Adam also checked the sky – seeing that the eclipse was approaching. Time was moving forward and they needed to make sure they stopped Hordak in time. In the meantime, if they could capture Scorpia -- who was calling the shots up ahead -- that would mean one less mercenary to deal with...

* * *

_to be continued..._


	31. Chapter 17 Pt 3 Gut Wrenching Feeling

Seahawk found Swen easily enough. It was hard to miss his voice: he was pointing out something to the rebel archer, Bow.

He reached them just as Bow let loose with an arrow that had a sizzling fuse attached to it. It reached its target, a group of troopers who exploded into satisfyingly small pieces.

"Great shot, Bow," Seahawk complimented the archer, making his way into to the brush blind concealing Swen and Bow.

"C-cap'n! You're back," Swen exclaimed, grinning. His face showed clearly just how glad he was to see his captain.

"Yes! I came back with Adora and her brother, Adam. It seems we're just in time," he commented, while Bow quickly got another explosive arrow ready to fire.

Bow stopped before lighting the fuse and turned to face Seahawk. "You said Adora's back?"

"Yes, we just got back from Eternia. She went to go have a 'talk' with Catra before we all met up near the Castle," Seahawk answered.

Bow quirked an eyebrow, "A 'talk' with Catra? I would bet that Catra isn't enjoying their 'discussion,' at all."

"I would say not," Seahawk said with a grin. "The idea is to push the Horde back towards the castle and its defenses – push them against the figurative wall. Let them know that we're not going to give up and let them take Brightmoon again."

"Sounds good to me," Bow said, lighting the fuse and taking aim at another set of troopers.

"How many more of those exploding arrows have you got left?" Seahawk asked.

"Not enough," Bow replied. "I didn't have enough time to get a lot made before the attack."

"What are you thinking, Cap'n?" asked Swen.

"We need to up the ante here – take out as many of these robots as we can," was Seahawk's answer.

"I hope you have a plan in mind," Bow said, seeing that their position had been discovered and that more of the robots were moving towards them. "Because we're about to have company!"

Seahawk grinned. "Just what I was looking for."

They spent the next few minutes brawling their way through the squad of robots that had closed in on them.

Out of breath, Seahawk surveyed the pile of broken and destroyed robot troopers that surrounded their position. They had trashed what looked like an entire squadron of the troops.

He nodded to Bow. "Good job."

"Yeah, well, we've still got a ways to go, if we're to get to the castle," Bow said, hands propped on his knees, taking deep breaths.

Seahawk took a look at the sky. The eclipse was approaching fast. "We've got to get a move on. We need to be at the castle before the moon is in full eclipse."

Bow looked up and saw for himself that time was passing faster than expected. He stood up straight and said, "Let's go."

"Swen!" Seahawk called out, not immediately seeing his first mate.

"Here, Cap'n," Swen said, emerging from behind a pile of robots.

"You know the plan. Take charge and I'll meet you up at Castle Brightmoon," Seahawk ordered. He turned back to Bow and with a nod, the two men took off at a jog through the woods.

* * *

Adam knew time was running short as well. Another glance at the night sky showed that the eclipse was about to begin. He got the attention of the rebel lieutenant he was working with. "The eclipse is about to start. I've got to get to the castle. Can you handle things from here?"

"Go. We know what the game plan is," the lieutenant answered.

"Good luck," Adam said, then took off at a sprint.

He felt a tugging on the connection that let him know where Adora was, and he turned to head that direction. She wasn't up at the castle yet, which had him slightly worried.

"I think it's time for He-Man and Battlecat to lend a hand, Cringe," he told the green tiger who loped alongside him.

Cringer made a worried noise and glanced up at his master to confirm that he had heard correctly.

Adam stopped and checked to make sure the area was clear before he pulled out the Sword of Power.

Moments later, the transformation from Prince Adam and Cringer to He-Man and Battlecat was complete. He-Man hopped on Cat's back. With a roar, the great Eternian tiger took off at a ground-eating run.

As they got closer to where Adora was, Battlecat spoke up. "I smell Horde stench, He-Man."

"Robots or mercenaries?" He-Man asked, one hand over his shoulder, reaching for his sword.

"Mercenary. No robots close by," Battlecat answered.

"All right then, we go in quietly and we take whoever it is out; then we get up to the castle to stop Hordak," He-Man said. "You take left and I'll take right."

"Rrrrrright," Battlecat answered.

He-Man slid off and began moving almost silently to the right while his friend moved to the left. If he didn't find the mercenary first, he figured Battlecat would probably flush the mercenary out and send whomever it was his way. He made his way through the forest, and he could feel that Adora was close. From what little he could gather through their link, she wasn't in danger, but suffered a growing impatience. Catra must be proving difficult to "reason with."

Another fifteen meters' zigzagging through the trees brought him close to his sister's position. There, skulking on the edges, mostly hidden by a dense patch of brush, was the Horde mercenary, Leech. He-Man would have missed him, if Leech hadn't brought his hands up and flexed them to expand his energy-draining suction cups.

So, that was the plan, he reasoned. Another tag-team attack on Adora. He whistled softly for Battlecat. Leech wouldn't hear it, but Battlecat would.

A low, answering growl came back to him a moment later. Leech tensed, not sure what to make of Battlecat's growl. He whistled low again – a sign for 'Cat to flush Leech out from his hiding spot.

With a much louder growl, Battlecat went charging through the brush, herding the mercenary right toward He-Man.

Leech scrambled, panicked, and didn't know which way to run. Battlecat took the decision from him, giving the villain only one way to go. Leech took it, unaware that He-Man was waiting to clothesline him. He ran right into the arm that He-Man held out, and went down heavily onto his back.

"I'm sorry to upset your plans, Leech, but you're not going to gang up on Adora tonight," He-Man told the mercenary.

Leech stared up at the hero with a combination of anger and fear. He tried for bravado: "You're not going to win, He-Man! Even now, Hordak and Shadoweaver are moving on Castle Brightmoon. It won't last the hour, with the moon in eclipse!"

"We already know what their plan is, Leech. Adora, the rebels, and I are going to stop them," He-Man assured him calmly. "And, after this is over, you will stand trial for your crimes against the people of Etheria."

Leech sprang up, and tried to get one of his suction cup hands on He-Man, who captured Leech's wrist. Smiling, He-Man pulled Leech forward and off his feet once more.

Leech flailed, trying to regain his balance, He-Man all but threw him to the ground once more. The mercenary landed, stunned, with arms spread, face first on the forest floor once more.

He-Man was back before Leech could even think about getting to his feet, having found some stringy bark to use as a rope. With speed to make a cowboy proud, he hogtied Leech's hands and feet together. Picking the mercenary up, He-Man placed him on Battlecat's back.

"Come on, 'Cat. I think it's time we let Adora know what time it is," he said, looking at his friend.

Battlecat swished his tail and growled his assent.

The two walked side by side into the clearing. They were just in time to see Adora knock Catra to the ground. Adora leaned her weight on one knee in the middle of Catra's back, twisting Catra's arm behind her spine.

"Yield, Catra," Adora said, out of breath.

"Never!" Catra yowled, still trying to be defiant.

"Yield, Catra," Adora repeated, pulling Catra's arm further back.

Catra whimpered and said grudgingly, "I yield."

"Need some help, Adora?" He-Man asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You wouldn't happen to have any handcuffs or rope handy, would you, He-Man?" Adora looked up her brother with a satisfied grin.

"Let me find something," He-Man said. He looked to Battlecat and said, "Stay here just in case Catra changes her mind, will you, Battlecat?"

"Sure thin,g, He-Man," Battlecat answered, purposely kneading the churned up forest floor right in front of Catra's face.

The female mercenary's eyes widened at the site of the large claws connected to those powerful paws in front of her face. She didn't like being on the opposite end of such an intimidating weapon.

He-Man took off at a jog, in search of more of the springy bark he had used to tie Leech up. He quickly got enough to not only hogtie Catra, but to make sure she and Leech were secured. He returned to see that the situation hadn't changed. Leech was still draped, hogtied, over Battlecat's haunches. While 'Cat stood in front of Catra's face. Adora had opted to sit on Catra's back instead of kneeling. Catra looked thoroughly disgusted with the situation. Chuckling, he handed the bark over to Adora.

She accepted it with a smirk and said, "Why, thank you, He-Man."

"You're welcome," he said, stepping back to let her tie the Horde Force captain up. When she finished, he commented, "I think it's time for you to find She-Ra, Adora. The eclipse is about to start."

"Right," she replied with a decisive nod.

"She-Ra!" Catra cursed.

Adora laughed and answered, "Yes Catra – I'm back and I brought She-Ra with me. Hordak's not going to win tonight."

Leaving Catra and Leech behind and secured, He-Man escorted her to a secure enough location in order for her to make the change to She-Ra.

As soon as the transformation was complete, he asked, "Ready?"

"Just about. I'll catch up to you. I need to find Spirit," She-Ra qualified.

"Don't be long," He-Man cautioned.

"I won't," she promised.

She rejoined He-Man and Battlecat moments later while they were cutting their way through even more of the robot troopers.

"What? Did Hordak recycle and produce a whole new battalion of robots?" He-Man commented, slicing through another pair of robots.

"Sure seems that way," She-Ra answered, then paused at a new sound. She looked up and said with some despair, "Batnecks! I should have known Hordak would use those as well."

"No time for trying to double guess yourself. You take the high road and I'll take the low road," He-Man told her.

"Right," She agreed.

Then, He-Man pointed out to her, the bright flashing of a saber cutlass, "She-Ra, isn't that - "

"Seahawk!" She-Ra finished for him. The sight of that cutlass cutting through more of the robots cheered her considerably. Seahawk had made it this far unharmed, it seemed, but there was no time to say anything to him. Her task was to take out the batnecks.

She found Spirit busily trampling a path through the robots and once he saw her, he made a beeline right for her, never breaking stride. She sprang forward and grabbed Spirit's red mane as he passed to haul herself up onto his back. Perfect execution and then they were off, running for cover.

They ducked out of sight and She-Ra quickly dismounted to throw her arms around his neck.

"I missed you, my friend," she said.

"Me too, She-Ra," Spirit whickered.

"Now, let's get to work," she said, pulling her sword from its sheath.

Moments later, the two took to the skies, heading for the Horde fighter craft.

Swiftwind swooped low and She-Ra took out the first line of batnecks without problem. The broken craft fell to the ground, taking out more of the robot troopers.

Then, the computer-controlled fighter craft realized they were under attack. They adjusted their course and came after She-Ra.

"They're following us now, She-Ra," Swiftwind reported as he caught an air current and soared higher in the air.

"Good," she answered with grim satisfaction. "Better us than attacking the castle defenses. Now, let's see how many more of these we can get rid of."

Thus, the aerial ballet began. Swiftwind swooped left when the batnecks came flying in from the right, firing at them. He dove low; at least one of the batnecks

failed to pull up in time and crashed into the ground. She-Ra noted it in the back of her mind as Swiftwind spread his wings wide, thundering hard to catch an updraft to help him gain altitude again.

This time, the batnecks came in from the left, firing at them. Swiftwind dodged right and caught the updraft he had been looking for. They flew up and over the incoming fighter craft and then, with a powerful kick of his hind legs, Swiftwind took out another pair of batnecks. That caused a chain reaction which took out two more.

The battle computers on-board the fighter craft struggled to adapt to the unusual fighting methods that She-Ra and Swiftwind used against them. Their target was more agile than they were programmed to handle.

One of the batnecks got a lock on their target and fired off a series of shots.

She-Ra felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. With her sword in hand, she ordered, "Dive, Swifty!"

Swiftwind followed the command without hesitation and felt the laser fire just singe his rear hooves. He whinnied at the unexpected pain but kept control of the dive.

The dive did have one unexpected benefit: another pair of batnecks collided in their pursuit of Swiftwind and She-Ra.

She-Ra saw the wrecked craft falling at them and said, "Left, Swifty."

Swiftwind veered left and gave She-Ra a view of the approaching rebel forces. She was glad to see them cutting down the Horde forces bit by bit. There was no time to acknowledge their efforts as the batnecks renewed their attack on the pair once more.

"Up, Swiftwind," she said, feeling them close in again.

"Right," Swiftwind answered, seeking the thermal to help gain altitude again.

* * *

He-Man made it to Seahawk's side easily enough. "Seahawk."

"He-Man, am I glad to see you. How do we get past all these robots?"

"I can take care of that," He-Man answered. He grabbed the nearest robot and lifted it up over his head. With a great heave, he threw the robot forward into the cluster of troopers in front of them.

"Let's go, He-Man," Battlecat said, charging forward into the breech He-Man had made.

"Right behind you, Cat," he answered, following his companion, with Seahawk falling into place beside him.

It took them precious time to keep clearing a path. When they got past the robot troopers, the eclipse was starting, and the moon was beginning to be shadowed.

"Hordak," He-Man called out.

Hordak spun and fired a shot from his hand cannon. "He-Man," he snarled.

HeMan easily blocked the shot and continued to move forward.

"It's time to leave, Hordak. You've worn out your welcome in Brightmoon." Seahawk said, tightening his fists around the hilt of his cutlass and the "power" ring on his other hand.

"I think not, Seahawk," Hordak answered, equally displeased to see him.

Seahawk couldn't resist taunting, "What? You think, Hordak?"

Hordak fired another shot that sent the two men diving away from each other.

"You can't stop it now, He-Man," Hordak gloated. "The eclipse has begun."

He-Man got back to his feet, but found his balance suddenly gone as he was overwhelmed by vertigo so intense, he felt like he was going to be sick any moment. Damn, he'd forgotten about Mantenna.

Swallowing back the rising nausea, he called, "Cat!"

With an angered hiss, Battlecat charged the mercenary, who ran when confronted by the large and angry tiger.

Battlecat had a wicked gleam in his eyes as he chased Mantenna around and straight back into Hordak -- who had been about to take a shot at Seahawk.

Hordak's shot went wild and high as Mantenna collided with him.

"Get off me, you idiot!" he cursed the mercenary.

He-Man stood back up, breathing much easier now that Mantenna had been taken care of by Battlecat. He knew they were at a stand off with Hordak and Shadoweaver, but when he heard the shrill whinny of pain, his heart plummeted. Swiftwind had been hit!

* * *

_to be continued soon! The next section is about wrapped up - I just need to find the time to finish getting it typed up in between studying for tests:-p_


	32. Chapter 17 Pt 4 And the Winner is?

Lost In a Lost World

Chapter 17 Part 4

Up in the air, She-Ra had been dueling it out with the Batmeks. She had used every insane maneuver to whittle the fighter craft numbers – including leaning almost all the way to one side in order to slice the wing off a batmek with her sword.

They dived low again, dodging more batmek fire, and were accelerating as they regained altitude. This time, they swooped over Hordak and Shadoweaver, who were being confronted by He-man and Seahawk. Shadoweaver continued to cast a spell that would breach the castle's defenses and let Hordak enter as if it were his own.

Then, the world spun out of control: she heard Swiftwind cry out in shock and they began spiraling towards the ground at an alarming rate...

* * *

Seahawk charged forward with an enraged bellow at Hordak upon realizing that Swiftwind had been hit.

With an aggravated growl, Hordak backhanded Seahawk with his hand cannon.

The blow caught Seahawk solidly on his jaw. His head whipped back as he went flying back to land heavily on the ground. He lay still, unconscious.

Hordak spun faster than He-Man would have given him credit for and fired at Battlecat, dropping him in mid-leap.

Swiftwind hit the ground too hard, tumbled head over heels; and lay in a heap, stunned, in pain and completely unable to move.

* * *

She-Ra leaped clear as Swiftwind hit and somersaulted out of control. She came to a stop and found herself laying on her side, just as stunned as if she had taken the hit herself. Her vision was blurry and doubling, her ears were ringing and she couldn't seem to get the message to her body from her brain to move. She knew Swiftwind was down and hurt but she just could not seem to act.

Everything seemed to be at one set removed and moving disjointedly, like time was stuttering and stopping around her. She heard He-Man call out to her - in worry? In warning? She was unable to answer him, her voice was frozen.

She managed to lift her head and focus her blurry vision to see Hordak now turning and firing his hand cannon at her. The signal from her brain got through this time: she raised the sword, still in her hand despite the fall, and voiced in a mere whisper, "Sword to shield."

The Sword of Protection changed shape and shielded its bearer from the stun bolt. The bolt deflected, exploded harmlessly against the ground near by.

The impact of the bolt against the shield cleared some of the stupor from her mind. Time seemed to snap back into place. She found that there wasn't a spot on her body that didn't seem to ache or throb from the hard and mostly uncontrolled crash-landing. A quick mental inventory didn't reveal anything more than some deep bruising. But, Swifty...

She struggled to her feet, needing to heal his injuries before anything else. The pain was just too much to bear; and his labored breathing was a stab to her heart. She was also angered beyond belief. Hordak would _not_ win this fight. He _would leave_ Brightmoon and understand that he was _never_ going to get it back. She stumbled drunkenly to Swiftwind's side and dropped to her knees to take his head carefully in her lap.

"Oh, Swifty," she said, stroking his neck.

Swiftwind rolled a pain-filled eye to look up at his mistress and friend. He didn't need to tell her that he hurt. Her face was open to him.

"I'll fix this, Swiftwind, just hold on," she promised him, already feeling the healing energy swirling up to her fingertips, waiting to be released to begin its work.

She heard He-Man's mental urging to hurry as he threw off more of the robot troopers that had surrounded him. Closing her eyes, she let her healing senses take over and let loose the energy, directing it to start with the most serious injuries first. The broken rib, the pinched nerve in his back, the nerve in his neck that was pinched by the dislocated vertebrae, the broken and ever-so- delicate bones in his ankles which had been shattered and dislocated in the impact. The injuries were severe and the healing energy sped on its path, knitting, realigning and repairing as it went. Then, she channeled it to take care of the less serious injuries from the torn muscles and strained tendons to the blaster burns he had received across the sensitive frogs of his rear hooves. Then, it returned in a wild and exultant rush and ran through her body; soothing all her aches and pains along with healing the minor concussion she hadn't realized she had. Both her and Swiftwind breathed deeply and pain free.

With a shimmering pop, the energy dissipated, leaving her on an endorphin and adrenaline high. She'd pay for it later on, she was sure, but Hordak was to be stopped first.

She surged to her feet, sword in hand again, and sliced through the robots that had encircled her while she'd been locked in the healing trance. They still needed to find a way to block Shadoweaver's spell and the only ones capable of stopping her were _in_ the castle, trying to prevent the Horde from gaining access. Unless...

If ever there was a time for the guardian spirit of the Crystal Castle to take direct action, tonight was definitely it.

She had to split her attention in order to contact him. She didn't have time to fly there and back with Hordak ready to breach the castle's defenses at any second.

::Lighthope, I really need your help here,:: She called out.

::What can I do for you, Princess?::

::The Horde is attacking Brightmoon and we're up against the wall here.:: She-Ra explained.

There was silence from Lighthope as if he was thinking about what to say.

::If Brightmoon falls, the Rebellion will have a hard time recovering from the loss,:: she hurried on, hoping to convince him to assist. ::We need help to stop Shadoweaver's spell. She's about to break through the castle's shields any second here.::

::There is nothing I can do directly, Princess,:: Lighthope answered in a voice full of regret. ::I am simply too far away, but I _do_ have an idea...::

* * *

Inside Brightmoon, the atmosphere was tense. Queen Angella, Glimmer and Madam Razz were locking into the spell that kept the castle shields up The toll was beginning to tell now that the eclipse was under way. Brightmoon received its power from the moons of Etheria and now that the biggest moon was in eclipse, the power to the shields was at its lowest.

Castaspella stood by watching, wondering when/if/how she could stop the encroaching enemy. She had been willing to combine her power with the others but had been overruled.

"We need someone with enough power to stop Shadoweaver once the eclipse is started," Queen Angella said. "You're the only one of us who knows Shadoweaver from before she became who she is today, and will know her weaknesses."

So, Castaspella had waited and watched as the women were boosting the shield's strength. Now, they were the only ones keeping the shield up, and the strain was showing. It seemed that there was more going on than just them supporting the shields - like their very lives were being drained.

The time was at hand to stop Shadoweaver, but how? If no craft, robot, mercenary or magic could get through, then how?

Just when she finished that thought, Castaspella felt a change in the air pressure and before she could do no more than notice it, she was no longer inside the castle.

How? What? She was in the middle of the battle? Quickly getting her bearings, she spun and called out, "Shadoweaver! Lorelei Lightspinner!"

That got Shadoweaver's attention, who turned and hissed, "I no longer recognize that name."

_But, it got your attention, _Casta thought. "It's time you left Brightmoon."

"How are you going to stop me? Brightmoon is feeding its power to me now," Shadoweaver gloated.

"Not for long!" Cast said, then threw a mage bolt at Shadoweaver. It was merely meant as a distraction to give her a moment to plan. She needed that moment to see how she could break the spell. She began drawing upon the power of the earth and the nearby Whispering Woods to grant her the strength to stop Shadoweaver.

Shadoweaver countered with a bigger bolt that impact ed heavily against Casta's shields and was absorbed.

He-Man appeared and tried to go for the physical approach. Just when he got within a few feet of Shadoweaver, black smoke came shooting out of her palms. He-Man was wrapped in black smoke snake coils; the more he struggled against them, the tighter they became, providing a crushing force against his ribs. He was driven to his knees, fighting for breath.

"Let him go, Shadoweaver," Casta ordered, ready to throw the Levin bolt she had in her right hand.

"No! For as long as I keep He-man immobilized, you will be more worried about him than anything else," Shadoweaver answered, narrowing her yellow eyes to mere slits underneath her hooded cowl.

Shadoweaver seemed to smile maliciously. With a small twist of her hand, the coils tightened further around He-Man.

Casta fed more power to the bolt, her temper soaring at the maliciousness of her former fellow student. She threw the bolt with her temper behind it. Shadoweaver flinched this time as it impacted with her shields.

That was enlightening to Casta. Whatever spell Weaver must be using to drain the power from Brightmoon must not be feeding power to her shields. She had been too arrogant to assume anyone would attack her directly.

Casta quickly drew more power for another Levin bolt and tossed it at Shadoweaver. This time, the bolt was absorbed. _All right then, _Casta thought. _That won't work to break the spell. I would drain myself before that would work… But, it might buy me some time until I can see how to break this._

She whispered a prayer/spell as she threw another blinding bolt at Shadoweaver. "Powers of Earth and night, grant me the sight to put things right."

Ignoring Shadoweaver's taunting, Casta at first didn't think her spell had worked and then, like an overlay on her vision, she could see how Shadoweaver had cast her spell. It wasn't one point of attack, it was numerous - more of a very thin, nearly invisible spider web that was overlaying the shields. She wouldn't have seen it if she hadn't been looking for something along those lines. It was an incredibly fine net Shadoweaver had woven and now, it was up to Casta to take that net down. She knew the what and why, but the how still remained. Then, the sight showed her how the spell connected to Shadoweaver - a sickly, pulsing green that made Casta feel ill to even look at it.

There was no time for finesse and with the other sight, she imagined a knife of glowing blue energy in her left hand that she would use to cut the rope connecting the net to Shadoweaver. In her right was another bolt. This one designed to blind Shadoweaver on the physical and magical planes - hopefully long enough to let her cut the rope.

She tossed the bolt and closed her eyes to slits just before it exploded in front of Shadoweaver's shields.

Shadoweaver cried out in pain as the bolt exploded, searing her eyes.

Casta brought up her knife hand and began trying to slice through the rope. She tried to slice through the rope, but felt like she had just hit a brick wall. The energy rope was just that resistant. _So much for that way_, she thought and reshaped the knife to be a saw. She made progress that way, sawing through the thick rope, but just when she was about to sever the last tendril, the rope reformed itself, snapping the energy saw up. It then tried to suck Casta into its net.

Casta cut ties to the saw and put up a "no see me" shield, just as the rope's expanded tendrils reached out for her. She hoped that the blind man's bluff would work . It did: the tendrils died without magic from Casta to feed it.

Options one and two had failed to work, now what? She didn't think she had much time left before Shadoweaver's spell killed Angella, Glimmer and Madam Razz

Shadoweaver recovered faster than Casta expected. The redheaded sorceress was nearly blinded herself when Shadoweaver's lightning attack hit her shields. Casta chided herself for not paying better attention to Shadoweaver. That was something her teacher would have rapped her knuckles for!

Stalling for time, she taunted Shadoweaver. "Do you really think Hordak would ever allow you to keep all the power once you've managed to bring down Brightmoon, 'Weaver? That would make you too powerful; and he can't have that, now can he?"

"There's nothing you or Hordak can do to stop me now, Castaspella," Shadoweaver said, making her name a curse.

"Oh, I bet there is, Shadoweaver," Casta said, just as dismissively. Inward, her thoughts were spinning around in a whirlwind, trying to find some method to break this spell…

Break! That was it. If she couldn't cut it, maybe she could break it. She wasn't used to working with the cold elements, that was more Frosta's purview, but she had an idea that just might work. She searched for the right words as she began drawing in even more power than before. She whispered the spell and let loose with a frigid blast that surrounded the overlaying net and rope connecting it to Shadoweaver. It had to get cold, absolutely frigid! She poured it on, knowing that this was her last chance. When her inner voice told her enough, Casta broke off the cold. While trying to catch her breath, she took a good look at what she had done with the magic oversight. The night glowed with the ice covering the web and the magic oversight showed her that the power feeding to Shadoweaver had been reduced to a trickle.

"You're not an elemental master, Castaspella. Your puny spell can't stop me," Shadoweaver said, trying to pull in more sluggish energy from the net.

"Yes, cold and frost are not my normal elements, but fire is," Casta answered. In a practiced move, a fireball the size of a Terran basketball formed in the palm of her hand. The flames danced eagerly, willing, wanting and begging to be released. She wound up like a baseball pitcher, a move she had learned on a visit to Eternia, and threw the fireball at the net.

The fireball grew and burned hotter as it moved through the air. It exploded against the net in an incandescent burst. The juncture point shattered and fell apart. The ice evaporated – going straight to vapor and dissipating almost immediately. The heat from the fireball continued to spread. With the mage oversight, Casta could see the web falling apart as the heat touched it.

Castaspella could see Shadoweaver wilt as the spell snapped with a vengeance. The magic righted itself and went back to where it belonged. Casta winced – the backlash was going to be horrendous. But, Shadoweaver had been stopped! The Horde wouldn't win the fight on the magical level today.

Feeling the pain from the backlash, Shadoweaver snarled and gasped, "You won't win, Castaspella! Not in the long run!"

"I think we will, Shadoweaver. The eclipse is ending and Brightmoon's shields are recharging even as we speak," Casta answered, hoping that was true.

Shadoweaver seemed to stagger. The backlash was probably hitting her hardest and not even her anger would be ale to keep her going for much longer, Casta thought critically, keeping a watchful eye on her opponent.

* * *

The coils that had kept He-Man bound the few minutes of their struggle vanished with a sudden pop that left him off balance. He ended up putting both hands out to keep from planting his face into the forest floor . He took his first deep breaths in what seemed too long a time, bringing air back to his starved lungs. He had been silent witness to the magical duel that had waged in front of him; only when Casta's spells had coated the shields around Brightmoon did he see what Shadoweaver had done.

He didn't know how Casta had arrived at just the right time, but she had, and Brightmoon had been saved on the magical level. It was time for him to take back the fight on the physical level now. Taking one last deep breath, he surged to his feet and began slicing on the robot troopers that were trying to close in on Casta from behind.

"That won't work today," He-Man said, swinging his sword and slicing through three robots without pause.

He kept his back to Shadoweaver, seeing that the robots were the bigger threat at the moment. He heard Shadoweaver's rasping curse towards him, Casta or the rebels, he wasn't sure. He spun and swung his sword, slicing the head off another robot. He felt the magical currents gathering, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He turned just in time to see Casta throw up a shield blocking Shadoweaver's attempt; but the spell wasn't aimed at her. It was aimed at him. He spun and tried to dodge the firebolt aimed right at him. Even as he was diving to the side, he felt the impact hit his upper arm and spin him onto his back, where he landed winded and in pain.

With a flash of lightning, Shadoweaver disappeared.

* * *

She-Ra heard Casta's voice call out across the battlefield. She understood now what Lighthope had had in mind. With that weight off her shoulders, she spun and took out more of the robots that were around her.

She told Swiftwind::Take to the skies, Swifty. You can do more in the air, my friend.::

She felt the gusts of wind as Swiftwind unfurled his wings and propelled himself above the ground based troopers. He could handle himself just fine against the Batmeks. Behind her, she could hear sounds of fighting getting closer. The rebels were taking care of the robot troopers that were being squeezed up against Brightmoon's shields.

It seemed as she fought her way forward, that there were more robots to take the place of the ones she cleared from her path. Hordak had really put a lot on the line for this battle. He must have been figuring that with either Adora and/or She-Ra missing from the battle, would mean that the rebels would be weaker. Clearly, he wanted to crush Brightmoon. That wouldn't happen – not if she had anything to say about it!

Finally, she was free of the robots and facing Hordak.

"It's over, Hordak. Leave while you can," she challenged the Horde leader, the man who had once been a father figure to her. She owed him that much at least – the chance to leave with his skin intact.

"It's not over, She-Ra," Hordak answered.

"Your troops are surrounded – even now, the rebels are pushing them back against Brightmoon's shields," she countered.

Hordak snarled, "Brightmoon's shield won't hold – not with the eclipse in full!"

"They will – Shadoweaver won't be able to get past them – Queen Angella, Glimmer and Madam Razz are inside keeping the shields up and Castaspella is out here now."

Then, before she could say anything else, Mantenna was back. . She found herself on her knees as he turned his balance distorter beams on her. The instant vertigo was bad, almost making her sick. It was by force of will and adrenaline that she managed to regain her feet – even if she was unsteady on them. She looked quickly around and saw that she was alone for the moment. No one was close enough to provide back up. Seahawk was out cold, as well as Battlecat and her brother- oh, the Ancients - was currently trapped in Shadoweaver's coils. The sounds of fighting and explosions were not far off now at all. Every second counted! She-Ra felt Swiftwind's questioning presence in the back of her mind, and figured out how to kill two birds with one stone.

::Swifty – let one of those Batmeks and get in close –::

:: – And dive bomb Mantenna?:: Swiftwind questioned, seeing the idea she had in mind.

::Exactly,:: She-Ra answered her friend.

With a toss of his head and a tilt of his wings, Swiftwind changed course, letting the robotic fighter craft come closer.

She-Ra wanted nothing more than to lean against her sword for balance, but kept it in hand and kept her attention on Hordak.

"Even your mercenaries can't stop me, Hordak. Face it, you've lost today. Leave while you still can," she repeated her earlier statement to him.

"I haven't lost yet, She-Ra. You can't stop me," Hordak blustered. "You can barely stand up."

Swiftwind dived with not one, but two Batmeks on his tail. He swooped low; and with the robotic craft firing at him, he headed straight for Mantenna. If the backwash from his wings wasn't enough, the robotic fighter on his tail firing at him certainly stirred up enough dust that it momentarily blocked Mantenna's sight.

By the time the mercenary realized he was in trouble, it was almost too late. He scrambled to move out of the way, breaking off his attack on She-Ra. Scrambling for traction, he almost ran into Hordak again, who brushed him off with an angry swipe of his arm.

"Get out of my way, you fool!" he cursed the mercenary.

Swiftwind turned and led the batmek around again, looking to get it to fire on Hordak. He knew it was right on his tail and figured he had enoughs space to pull up and out fly them again.

From her vantage point, She-Ra could see how close the batmek was on Swiftwind's tail and didn't see how he could out maneuver it– it was just too close. However, his tactic worked; and Hordak was forced to duck to avoid the fire from the batmekss but Swiftwind was left without room to pull up.

::Go left, Swifty!:: She urged him.

Swiftwind followed her command only to see her sword go spinning by in a blur right off the end of his right wingtip and slice open the two batmeks from stem to stern.

From across the field, he could hear the verbal confrontation taking place between Casta and Shadoweaver. Then, he heard Shadoweaver's hiss on frustration. He turned and saw her hands raise up as he felt the gathering electrical charge in the air.

Shadoweaver cast her spell and he reared back to avoid the lightning that came streaking down, temporarily blinding him. When his sight cleared, he saw Casta lowering the shield she had thrown up and blinking several times to clear her vision. Shadoweaver was gone. She had used the last of her power to escape.

With Shadoweaver's dramatic exit, She-Ra advanced once more on Hordak.

"Your grand plan seems to have failed, Hordak."

"Shadoweaver," Hordak cursed the witch. His eyes narrowed and She-Ra wondered what he was up to.

Mantenna, still loyal to his boss, found one last bit of courage to once more turn his balance distorter beams on She-Ra.

The vertigo drove her to her knees. This time, the adrenaline rush was gone and she was trembling in exhaustion, unable to get back to her feet.

"You may have won this battle, She-Ra, but maybe you can explain to Adora the loss of her lover," Hordak taunted and spun, aiming at the unconscious Seahawk.

Swiftwind and He-Man both were too far away to stop him and could only even begin to move before Hordak fired.

"No!" She-Ra shouted, drawing on some last reserves of will power and whipped her tiara off, throwing it at Hordak. Her aim was true and Hordak's shot went wild.

Hordak snarled and turned his attention back to She-Ra. "This isn't over, She-Ra."

With another flash of lightning, he disappeared, just as He-Man came charging forward.

Mantenna, smart enough to see the trouble he was in, yelped and took off running in the direction of the Fright Zone.

She-Ra looked up to see that the rebel army had managed to break through the ranks of the robots and now surrounded the clearing. She sighed in relief and dropped her head down for a moment to gather her flagging energy. With care, she got to her feet to get to Seahawk.

She carefully cradled his head in her lap and gently stroked his jaw, willing him to wake up. She couldn't detect any serious injuries and was grateful. She didn't have anything left to drawn on right now to heal even the slightest cut.

Seahawk groaned and his eyes slowly opened as he returned to awareness. He closed his eyes again and blinked, trying to clear his vision..

"Welcome back, Seahawk," she said, continuing to stroke his jaw, unheeding of how she looked too much like Adora without her tiara keeping her full, wavy hair back.

"I must be dreaming," Seahawk groaned, closing his eyes again and rubbing a none too steady hand across them.

"Why do you say that?" She-Ra questioned, relieved that he was awake.

"Because even you, She-Ra, are starting to look like Adora," Seahawk answered, leaning into the gentle stroking of his jaw.

She-Ra chuckled and asked, "How do you feel otherwise?"

"Did anyone see the tank that ran over me?" Seahawk said, slowly moving his limbs, testing them for injury.

She-Ra laughed in relief, the battle was won and the man who had captured her heart was truly going to be all right.

He-Man appeared at her side then, with her tiara in hand. "Here, I think that you were missing this, She-Ra."

"Thank you, brother," she sent him a grateful smile. "How is Battlecat?"

"Grumbling, but he'll be okay," He-Man answered, watching her closely as she tiredly slid her tiara back in place.

He-Man reached a hand down and said, "Here, Seahawk, let me help you up."

"Thanks, He-Man," Seahawk accepted it, wavering unsteadily on his feet for a moment, before finding his balance. "Damn, that's twice now Hordak's gotten the drop on me in the last two weeks."

"Are you all right, Captain Seahawk?" Castaspella asked, approaching the group.

"I will be once I get a chance to soak in a hot bath, Your Majesty," Seahawk replied with a lopsided grin.

He-Man helped She-Ra to her feet. She leaned against him tiredly for a moment, wishing she could do nothing more than sleep.

"What about you, She-Ra? Are you all right?" Casta asked, clearly quite concerned about seeing Etheria's champion so drained.

"I'll be okay, Casta, really," She-Ra assured her, straightening up. "Doing a Healing just takes a lot out of me."

"I understand," Casta said with a nod.

Bow approached then and gave his report: "It looks like all the remaining robots are destroyed and the last of the batmeks have been recalled back to the Fright Zone. The only task left is the clean-up of these robots."

"Any serious injuries, Bow?" She-Ra asked, bracing herself to heal any life-threatening trauma.

He shook his head, "I don't know the full list, but from my group, we had one broken arm from someone who tried to block a robot's punch with their forearm and a broken ankle from a misstep and tripping over a root."

"Good, that's good," Casta said with a look over to She-Ra. "The castle healers will be able to help with that."

She-Ra was grateful for Casta taking charge of that aspect.

"Where's Adora?" Bow asked, looking around for the rebel leader. "I thought she would be here."

He-Man quickly answered for her, "I believe she was heading to the castle to make sure everyone up there was all right and to help with the clean up." While he opened the connection between them and said::Now would be a good time for you to make the change back to Adora, Sis. You're about ready to keel over with exhaustion here.::

::But...:: she tried to protest.

::Battlecat is getting your sword even now.::

::Thank you, Brother Mine.::

::Anytime, Sis, anytime,:: he answered with a quiet chuckle.

She-Ra spoke, "I had better see if there are any of the mercenaries left lurking around."

"We did leave Leech and Catra tied up back there," He-Man said with a grin.

"Why don't you see if they're still there, He-Man?" She-Ra asked, giving him an out to make his change back to Adam.

"That sounds like a plan," He-Man agreed, and after stating a plan of action for the rest of the group, they split up.

* * *

She-Ra kept one hand on Swiftwind's shoulder, as much to reassure herself that her friend was truly all right as to keep upright. She gratefully accepted her sword back from Battlecat before mounting Swiftwind and heading for the air and the short trip to the castle.

There, they made the transformation back to Adora and Spirit, out of sight with just enough of a lead for Adora to make it to the throne room in time to see the healers working on coordinating things there.

A cursory exam by the chief healer relieved Adora's concern.

"It's just exhaustion and backlash, Princess," the healer assured her.

"Backlash?" Adora questioned, puzzled. Queen Angella, Glimmer and Mama Razz hadn't been casting any active spells.

"Yes. Anyone with a touch of magic in the castle felt it when whatever Shadoweaver was doing to try and bring down the shields backfired and snapped."

"Oh," Adora said, her tired mind not processing the information that had been given. "Is anyone injured?"

"Besides Queen Angella, Princess Glimmer and Madam Razz? No one. The shields held. Just some headaches all around. Speaking of which, you look like you have a massive headache Princess."

"Me?" Adora said, suddenly aware of a nagging and dull throbbing behind her eyes.

"Here, close your eyes for a moment and take three slow, deep breaths," the healer said.

Adora did as told and felt the healer's hands near her temples, radiating warmth, but not touching her. Keeping her eyes closed and breathing deeply, she could hear the healer's robs shift as he moved his hands. She felt light headed and off balance for a moment, but the healer's calm voice steadied her.

"Just breathe, we're almost done," he assured her.

There was no other way to describe it, but like a pop as something seemed to shift. Then she felt the healer's hands fall away.

"Now, take another deep breath and open your eyes," the healer said with satisfaction. "Better?"

"Yes," Adora answered with surprise.

"Energy fields exist around everyone and it's all a matter of knowing how to manipulate them,"the healer explained briefly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to see to the wounded that will be coming in. Make sure you drink plenty of water and try to get some rest before you fall over, Princess."

"I will – and thank you," Adora said gratefully.

The healer left to go deal with the wounded and Adora turned her attention to gathering clean up details of the battle ground. The palace pages would be put to use carrying messages back and forth now, she thought with a sigh.

Adora had just set up the map with the greatest concentrations of debris when Seahawk and Castaspella came in. Before she could even say hello to them, she found herself caught up in a spinning hug as Seahawk swept her up.

"Adora, you're safe!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, I am," she answered, laughing.

Then, he set her down, keeping an arm around her waist, as if afraid to let her go again.

Adora put a hand on top of his and turned her attention to Casta, "Casta, when did you get here?"

"I was here in the throne room before the battle started and just when I was wondering how I was going to be able to help, I found myself outside the shields, facing Shadoweaver," Casta explained, clearly still puzzled over that.

She-Ra was going to have to explain that one to her friend. Well, that was something for another time when they weren't all so worn out with post-battle exhaustion. In the meantime, she offered, "I think She-Ra may have had something to do with that."

Casta titled her head to the side and thought for a moment before replying, "Hrmm... I shall have to talk to her. She's not still around is she?"

"No, I'm afraid not, Casta," Adora said, mentally crossing her fingers that it would be a few days before She-Ra was needed again. Tonight had been tiring for all and she wanted a good night's sleep, but she knew she wouldn't get it "She had to leave."

Casta filed her question away and turned her attention to the map, "What's thus?"

"The debris field. Unfortunately, Hordak didn't take his broken toys with him when he left," Adora explained.

Seahawk studied the map and asked, "Is that all of it?"

"I think so, but I'm sure we'll be finding robot and batmek pieces strewn all over for some time to come," Adora answered.

"What are you going to do with them?" Casta asked.

"That I don't know. Perhaps they can be melted down and made into sheet metal to help rebuild some of the villages destroyed by the Horde. I'd like to talk to Queen Angella more about this when she's recovered."

"How is she?" Casta questioned next.

Before Adora could answer, she was swept up in another bone crushing hug and given a rather noisy kiss right on the lips.

"Adora, thank the ancients you're back!" Bow exclaimed.

"Well, it seems I got back just in time too," Adora said with a smile.

Bow looked around and realized there were people missing. He asked, "Where are Queen Angella, Glimmer and Madam Razz?"

"In the hands of the healers," Adora provided the answer she hadn't been able to before.

"Will they be all right?" Bow looked torn – like he wanted to sit with Glimmer, but didn't know if he would be allowed or welcomed if he did.

"The chief healer told me that all they really needed was some quiet and rest to recover," Adora assured him and noted her brother's entrance with a nod.

Putting her years of Horde training to use, Adora began organizing the clean up – delegating duties out the the most capable and asked Casta to oversee the wounded.

It was close to dawn when she hit the end of her endurance. She put down the pen she had in one hand and rubbed her eyes tiredly, hoping to clear her blurring vision. She looked at everyone else and saw equally exhausted and red rimmed eyes.

"That's enough. Anything else can wait," she sighed, pushing back from the table where she had set up her command post.

She leaned into the arm that Seahawk wrapped around her waist and paused to help Adam to his feet – having long since sent Bow off to the healers' hall to sit by Glimmer's side.

"Finally, I was beginning to think I was going to have to pry you away from there, Adora," Adam said around a yawn. He paused and waited for Cringer to finish his leisurely stretch and take his place at his side.

"There is a lot to be done, but we've done all we can for now," Adora answered around her own yawn.

"It can wait. Everything else can wait for now since Hordak's going to be sulking in the Fright Zone for a few days at least, licking his wounds," Seahawk said, steering her from the throne room.

_To be continued - for one last time:)_


	33. Chapter 18 Wrapping Up

Lost in a Lost World

Chapter 18

And, Adora was right – everything else could, and did wait for her to return to the throne room the following afternoon. She was startled to find Queen Angella studying the reports that the palace pages had been gathering for Adora.

"Your Majesty, it's good to see you," Adora stated. She hadn't thought that the Queen of Brightmoon would be released from the healers' care so soon.

"You are surprised to see me," Angella said with a wry smile. "Brightmoon is my responsibility, my kingdom, and I needed to see for myself how we fared in yesterday's fight. "

"It was close, Your Majesty," Adora admitted. "If She-Ra hadn't been there..."

"But, you and she came through for us once again, Adora. Thank you," Angella said and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the worktable. "Sit down, please, and bring me up to speed, Adora."

"Certainly, Your Majesty," she replied, and began her verbal report. This was where her Horde training came in handy once more – the ability to remember information and give short and concise reports.

The hardest part was listing the casualties – they had lost three people in the battle. One younger man, they had lost due to a leg injury. He had bled out before the healers could reach him. Another was a young woman whose heart had apparently given out, and a third man also from a heart attack. He'd taken a stun blast at close range, right in the chest. Nothing they had tried had been able to get his heart restarted.

"They will be remembered and I will take care of the notifications," Angella said grimly. "They died fighting for Etheria's freedom, but in the defense of Brightmoon and as its leader, it is only fitting I should do this."

Adora had learned in the short time since she had first met her that the woman's strength of character was just one of the reasons why Brightmoon had been the last kingdom to fall to the Horde. Knowing now what she did about the queen and Hunga, the leader of the Harpies, she doubted that Brightmoon would have been captured at all. There would be no budging the queen on this matter and it was one Adora gratefully relinquished.

Angella went on to say, "We are fighting a war, and any casualty is unfortunate. Hordak will have to face a hefty tally when his day of reckoning comes."

It was when they got to the clean up of the destroyed Horde troops that Adora brought up her idea.

"What plans do you have for Hordak's 'trash,' Your Majesty?"

"I honestly hadn't gotten that far..." Angella admitted.

"I have an idea and wanted to run it by you," Adora went on to explain what she had in mind.

"That would certainly relieve some of the crowding issues in the Whispering Woods, but Hordak killed or imprisoned all the engineers when he invaded," Angella said, with a thoughtful expression.

"Well, isn't it time we started to rebuild Etheria?" Adora countered. "I can get help from Eternia – I know my father might not be able to send troops, but certainly he won't mind if I go recruiting some engineers."

"I think you may be on to something here, Adora. Very well, once we have things more or less back to normal here, contact your father and see what he's willing to do," Angella said with a decisive nod.

Adora grinned and nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you."

The rest of the briefing didn't take long and then, the queen left Adora to the clean up again.

* * *

It took a few days to have the clean up of the battleground well in and for Adora to arrange everything with her brother to carry the request back to their parents. 

"You know this would go over much better if you were to take this back yourself, sis," Adam said as they walked in the Whispering Woods on a bright and sunny morning.

"I know, but I can't trust Hordak not to take his frustration out somewhere else for his failure to win at Brightmoon," Adora replied with a frown. There were times when she wished for the gift of foresight in order to better see what moves Hordak was plotting.

"Either way, we did good at Brightmoon, Adora. Don't ever let yourself doubt that," Adam stated, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Thanks, Adam," Adora leaned her head on his arm for just a moment before stepping away to pull her sword out. "Tell mother and father I'll be home again before too long."

"I will," Adam promised.

Adora lifted up her sword and said, "Sorceress, we're ready for you to open the portal."

"Certainly," the Sorceress's face appeared briefly in the jewel of the sword and then, a golden burst of light streamed from the sword and a portal opened.

"Take care, Adam," Adora said, finding herself wrapped up in a hug.

"You too, Adora. Remember – watch your back," Adam answered, feeling just as reluctant to leave as he was ready to go home.

"I will if you will," Adora laughed and then knelt down to give Cringer a last scratch before they walked through the portal.

She walked back to the main rebel encampment with Spirit at her side. There were always little things that could be done to get under Hordak's skin and help to free Etheria and each day brought more people either seeking refuge or looking to join the rebellion. They were winning, but still had a long way to go before all of Etheria would be free.

* * *

It was a week later that Seahawk returned to Brightmoon to steal Adora away for a special cruise. 

"It's the first time The Solar Sailor'll be in the water since we dry-docked to do all the cleaning and restorations. You have to come with me, Adora," Seahawk pled his case.

"Oh, I do, do I?" Adora questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I thought that women were supposed to be bad luck on a ship."

"I've since learned that having a woman – in fact, a very special lady – on board, is actually good luck," Seahawk countered with a rakish smile.

"Special lady, hrm?" Adora asked, unable to resist his smile.

"Yes, very special lady, like I said," Seahawk answered, pulling her into his arms for a kiss.

Adora went willingly, but moments later leaned back to say, "But, I don't think I can get away right now; not with the engineers and equipment to arrive from Eternia…"

It was Glimmer, as a witness to Seahawk's wooing attempt, who spoke up, "I can take care of that, Adora. I know where you want to set everything up, and I can work with the engineers on this."

Adora looked doubtful, but Glimmer said, "I _can_ do this. I need to do this."

"All right, I'll go," Adora answered, finally after studying Glimmer for a moment. She saw what she needed to see in her face to reassure herself that the project would be handled well in her absence. She looked back to Seahawk and asked, "When do we leave?"

"Immediately – I want to be out in open waters by sunset," Seahawk answered.

"But –" Adora started to protest. She had nothing packed and to just up and leave on a moment's notice?

Then, Madam Razz was there with a satchel of clothes. "Here you go, dearie."

Adora looked sideways to Seahawk, "Why do I get the feeling that you had this all set up?"

"Well, I am a pirate, after all," he answered with a sly grin.

They headed out and made good time back to Gailsbreath. The crew was casting off lines as they boarded.

"The tide is just turning, C-cap'n," Swen reported as they boarded.

"Great, Swen. Everything else ready?"

"Aye aye, Cap'n," Swen said with a sharp salute.

"Let's cast off then," Seahawk ordered.

At his command, the sails spread wide and the ship surged forward as the anchor cleared the water. They were out on open water and sailing into the sunset as Seahawk had wanted when he pulled her to a quiet, abandoned corner of the aft deck.

"Adora, do you remember that island where you were stranded after Admiral Scurvy knocked us out of the air?" Seahawk asked her seriously, his arms around her waist.

"Yes, I remember," she answered.

"That's where we're heading," he said, leaving Adora with the feeling that there was more he had to say.

"Why there, "'Hawk?"

"Because I met someone there who opened my eyes and I want you to meet him. I want my father to meet the woman I love."

Adora spun around to face him, shocked. "Your father? But, I thought you said he was dead?"

"Before then, I thought he was. He can't leave there because of his health and to the world, the Raven will remain dead. But, I want you to meet him."

"Oh," Adora exhaled, flattered beyond words at what he was saying.

Then, he reached into a pocket and pulled out an heirloom golden ring with a brilliant sapphire stone that matched her eyes.

"This is for you," he said, holding out the ring for her to inspect. "Diamonds, I understand, are the traditional betrothal stone on your mother's world, but a diamond seems so colorless in comparison to you."

Adora was speechless as she stared at the ring he then slid onto her finger. She had never heard Seahawk be so eloquent before – nor so direct. Usually when it came to committing himself he liked to talk around it – always holding some part of himself back. She stared back at his face, and read his full commitment there.

"You haven't said anything, Adora," Seahawk teased.

"Yes, oh yes," Adora found her voice.

"Good, you had me worried for a moment," Seahawk admitted.

"Well, what can I do to make it up to you?" Adora said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'm sure I can think of something," Seahawk answered, letting her pull him down for a kiss.

He knew that it would be some time before they would be able to formalize their relationship, but those were worries for another day.

* * *

Back in the Fright Zone, Hordak was indeed sulking on his throne. He still couldn't fathom how these rebels had managed to defeat him. 

The rebels had no advantages that he could easily think of. They had less technology available to them. They were certainly not as well trained as his robot troops. He even had the numbers on his side. So, how were they able to defeat him? He just couldn't understand!

His temper was so black that even Imp had deserted him, leaving him alone in his throne room. Mantenna was cowering somewhere out of sight, afraid of his boss's foul temper.

Shadoweaver had all but barricaded herself in Horror Hall, weakened and enraged from her defeat at Brightmoon. Now, she was searching her magic tomes for another grand spell to use against the rebels.

He swore, he would somehow find a way to defeat the rebels – he had all the advantages on his side. There was no reason he couldn't. Except, that deep down inside in that small corner he didn't like to admit existed, he knew he was fighting a losing battle. He wouldn't be able to admit the rebels because they had one advantage he refused to acknowledge – they were fighting for their freedom. That made anyone more determined and gave them that edge they needed to win. He also had to admit that he had had too apt a pupil in Adora. She had learned her lessons well and was now turning his tactics against him.

But, until that day came when he faced his last battle for the fate of Etheria, he would fight with every last resource he had. He would make the rebels pay dearly for every inch of ground that they gained.

He wouldn't leave Etheria without a fight...

* * *

**Epilogue**

Back on Earth, Chelsea awoke with a start on the couch at her grandparents' house in Colorado.

The fire had died down to smoldering embers and the movie in the DVD player was repeating the same refrain of music every thirty seconds, waiting for a decision to be made. She stared around, feeling like she was out of place – missing something.

She was awake and felt like had just stepped out of a dream. What had she been doing? She was in her pjs – black leggings and her floppy gray and black wicked sleepshirt. She sat up and pushed her mussed hair back out of her face and looked around the room.

There was an airbed on the floor Chelsea stared at it in puzzlement for a long minute. She thought hard, and began to put the pieces together. She pulled her pendant out and wasn't surprised to see it glowing slightly and radiating just enough heat to be warmer than body temperature.

"So, it wasn't a dream..." she said aloud to the empty house. The settling of the embers was the only answer she got. She exhaled heavily and hit stop on the DVD remote, then the power button for the television. "Enough. I can deal with the rest of this tomorrow."

She got upstairs to her bedroom and had to check the date on her cell phone. She wasn't sure how long she had been gone, and needed to know how much time she had left before her friends invaded. The calendar showed her that the Sorceress had sent her back with just enough time to clean up and get herself into Denver tomorrow to pick her friends up from the airport.

The following morning, she did a whirlwind cleaning and after taking her shower, she stood in her closet wondering what to wear when she spied the outfits from Marlena. She wondered how things had gone for Adora and just as she finished that thought, she felt that sense of time jump – of stepping outside time to watch things in that strange fast forward/slow motion way that some filmmakers favored.

She saw brief glimpses of the battle Adora had said would be brewing on Etheria and saw the outcome – Adora and the rebels had made the day. Hordak had once again been driven out of Brightmoon.

Then, as fast as it had appeared, the feeling vanished and she was leaning against the closet door as a sudden wave of dizziness hit her.

"Wow," she breathed. She shook her head and went back to looking for something to wear. "Thanks, Sorceress. I'm glad it all turned out okay for now."

Her drive into Denver was uneventful – the region well used to shrugging off large amounts of snowfall and had no problem getting a parking spot. She checked the monitors and saw that their flight was just landing. She had a few minutes to spare and waited for the announcement on which baggage carousel their luggage would be arriving on.

It was one friend, Jenna, who looked like she could be Chelsea's twin, who noticed the blouse she had on under her jacket, "Whoa! Have you been shopping? I thought you were housebound with that blizzard!"

"Well, I _was_ housebound with the storm, but then, well... you see, the rest is a long story and you wouldn't believe me..." Chelsea answered with a grin. She wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders and said, "You see, life is full of strange twists and turns..."

_A/N: This is it folks:) Thanks for sticking around for the long ride! _


End file.
